I Have all Summer to Fall For You
by Silver and Gray
Summary: At school, Gilbert makes fun of Matthew, and Matthew just wants to be left alone. But then when the hot days of summer roll around, and they have nothing but freetime, things happen that NO ONE could have planned for! PruCan, lots of fluff : Please R
1. Chapter 1

**Woo-hoo! My first PruCan story :) Lets get this party started, shall we?**

**Enjoy!  
**

Matthew Williams always thought of himself ordinary, in no ways extraordinary. He was a B average student, he thought math was a tough subject, and he had struggled with the typical peer pressures that any teenager had to go through. So he was that typical everyday teenager. He was just…ordinary.

Shouts and screams filled the air as he watched a kid from his school sprint toward him, yards ahead of the other competitors. Without hesitating, Matthew kneeled down on one knee, raised the camera that was strapped around his neck, looked into the view finder and quickly snapped several pictures as he raced across the finish line. Lowering the camera, he pressed a button on the side that let him review the pictures he just took, and grinned in satisfaction as he saw that each one was clear, in focus, and just enough lighting was used.

It was a beautiful sunny Thursday afternoon. Just weeks away from summer vacation, kids rejoiced, and at the same time became lazy, many of them not finishing their homework the whole way through. Of course, in their defense everyone always complained that the fourth quarter was always the most stressful.

Matthew sat by the finish line at a Track meet as he watched other students from his school compete against their notorious rivals from Chancely Axis High. This was the final Track meet of the year, since the Spring Sports season was drawing to an end as summer drew closer. Matthew noted that so far, his school (Hetalia International High School) had the upper hand, since the last three races had drawn up victorious for them. But everyone had to remind themselves that this was just the start of the meet, and that it could turn around at any moment.

He and three other people from his Photojournalism class had been assigned to take pictures of the meet. He had been assigned to photograph all the running events, a Ukrainian girl named Katyusha had been assigned the jumping events, and a senior whose name Matthew couldn't remember, had been given the throwing events. It was done that way so that one single student wouldn't be given the burden to have to photograph each event, and become stressed out since they would have to continuously run back and forth from each event. Unlike most sports, Matthew noted, like Basketball or Soccer, Track was a spread out sport. It wasn't in an arena or just located on one field. In fact, all the throwing events (Shot Put, Discus, and Javelin) were actually held in a field on top of a hill behind the high school, while the running events (Sprinting, Relays, and Distance) were held on the 400 meter long track which was across the parking lot on the other side of the high school, where Matthew was currently located. The jumping events (High Jump, Pole Vault, Long and Triple Jump) were right next to the track, but on the other side of a fence. Basically their assignment was to take pictures for the Yearbook staff so that they could use them in the…well, the yearbook.

Matthew looked up from his camera and squinted in the bright sunlight. The boy that had just won the race was straightening up, still catching his breath. He shook his head, his curly brown hair moving out of his face, and his green eyes glinting slightly in the sun, full of energy. Matthew remembered the kid's name. Antonio Fernandez. He was a junior, going on to being a senior, and was famous for three things at Hetalia High. One was that he was one of the fastest people that had ever come to the school, breaking three sprinting records that had been set for nearly fifteen years, he was voted Most Congenial in the 'School Personality' contest, and third was that two months ago he had become openly gay. Even though a large amount of people were shocked to find out about this, surprisingly a lot more people were almost indifferent about it, even when someone famously quoted, "Well of course, he'd have to be gay, since all the straight men at our school are either jocks with huge egos, or complete douche bags that think they're better than everyone else."

But what surprised everyone the most had to be who Antonio revealed to be dating. Lovino Vargas, who if it were a possible category in the School Personalities, would have been voted, 'Worst Attitude'. Lovino was in Matthew's grade, and he had to listen to the to the hot tempered Italian go on in his thick accent about what the teacher was doing wrong, why their school system was screwed, and most of the time, just watching him flip out at another classmate, and to everyone's amusement, most of the time that classmate being his twin brother, Feliciano Vargas, dubbed the 'nicer version'.

So no one could really see how the nicest guy at their school could date such a mean, irritated person that always seemed annoyed by everything. What really seemed to leave everyone dumbfounded the most however, was that Antonio, standing true to his Congeniality, didn't seem to even mind the insults, and sometimes even laughed as if he were being told a joke instead.

As Antonio walked past Matthew, he opened his mouth and quietly said, "Congratulations." At first, Matthew thought he hadn't heard him, since his voice tended to be quieter than most people's and it often led him to being ignored, but when Antonio looked in his direction gave a smile and said a breathy "Thanks!" back, Matthew felt his cheeks grow warm. He hated being so shy, and as he grew older, he was slowly making attempts to be more open and social toward others. Even muttering a simple 'Hello' to a stranger was an ordeal for him that he tried to get over.

"Oi! Mathieu! Come over here!"

Matthew bit back a groan and rolled his eyes. He could recognize that French accent anywhere. It was his cousin Francis Bonnefoy.

Turning slowly, he saw Antonio standing by a blonde haired man with chin length hair who was waving at him. Matthew wanted to shake his head no, and ignore him, but he knew better. He knew that if he just ignored him, Francis would come over and bother him anyway. Sighing, he walked over to where they were standing.

"What, Francis?" Matthew said quietly, giving him and irritated look. Francis ignored the look and instead, fixed Matthew with a smile that could have outshined the sun. Francis gestured at Antonio. "My dear friend, Antonio wishes to see the pictures you took of him while he gallantly sprinted across the finish line in the previous race."

Matthew tried to resist the urge of rolling his eyes again. Francis was indeed French, but he didn't have a permanent accent. He had grown up in North America, both his parents moving from France, but unlike his parents who had heavy accents, he could speak normally. He just chose to speak in a French accent because as he had told Matthew before, "It really wows the ladies if you speak like a foreigner. They find it, how would you say it? They find it _swooning_." Matthew thought without a doubt that the only people that had ever heard him speak normally without a French accent would have to be him, his family, and Francis' friends. Matthew turned to Antonio with a small smile and took the camera off from around his neck and handed it to him.

"Sure." Matthew said quietly and pointed at a button that allowed you to playback the photos. "Just press this button."

Antonio nodded and looked through the pictures. When he was done, he looked at Matthew and smiled again as he handed back the camera. "Wow, you're a really good photographer."

Matthew blushed and timidly looked down. "T-thanks…"

"Toni~! Franciiisss!"

Matthew looked up to see…oh no…he quickly put the camera back around his neck and turned to leave, "Um, well I have to, you know, keep taking pictures, so—"

"Hey, is that Matthew?"

Matthew froze in his tracks like a rabbit caught at a dead end with a rabid dog at his heels and slowly turned to the voice. White hair and red eyes, and yet just one year older than he was, stood Gilbert Beilschmidt.

Huge ego.

International asshole.

Matthew knew Gilbert from the few times Francis had come to his house and brought him along. Gilbert was courteous in front of adults, but whenever they aren't around…

Matthew fought back the memory. He didn't want to be reminded of the words that seemed 'innocent' but deep down, they all meant something else that were cruel and harsh. He was on the Track team along with Antonio. Francis didn't participate in as many sports claiming he was too 'busy' at home. He stopped in front of Matthew. He was wearing a pair of white sweatpants that were rolled up at the knee (Hetalia's school colors were white and gold). Wording on the right side of the pants read in a golden text: Hetalia International, and then on the left side it read: Track & Field. Gilbert was wearing a white t-shirt that he had obviously just pulled on, and he was wearing a pair of Adidas sandals, his spikes tied together with their shoelaces and draped around his neck.

"Taking pictures, shortie? Huh, I've never seen photography as something a guy would do. Isn't that a bit _girlish_?" Gilbert asked, looking at the camera. Matthew bit his lip and looked away. Gilbert was in his 'innocent' mode, which was asking questions that didn't seem too harmful to anyone else that would just be standing around, but really he was just starting to get mean. Francis laughed and sneered back, "Gilbert, it's not like there's anything 'wrong' with it. I mean, how many times have you run around with a camera taking pictures?"

"None. You know why Francis!"

"Oh yes!" Francis said and smacked his forehead as if he had forgotten, "_That's_ why!"

Matthew bit his lip harder. Someone listening might have no idea what they were talking about, but Matthew was in on their little joke. It was something a girl would do, and Gilbert obviously wasn't a girl. But because Matthew took pictures, he was definitely a girl.

Antonio looked from Gilbert to Francis, then to Matthew and frowned. It was remarkable how the three had managed to stay friends, considering Gilbert and Francis were so well known for their cruelty towards other people.

"What are you two talking about?" Antonio asked, and the sound of the starting gun being shot off to start the next race could be heard in the background.

Gilbert snorted and turned to Antonio, "Nothing. Just something me and Francis heard about the other day."

Antonio didn't look convinced, and opened his mouth to say something else when a voice interrupted him.

"Hey, Matthew?" Matthew looked over his shoulder and saw Katyusha walking toward him. She had short blonde hair and a very large chest. She was just as timid as Matthew, but with just a tad more confidence. "Do you have any extra batteries for the cameras? I forgot to get mine charged."

"Uh…" Matthew looked over at the three guys, Gilbert and Francis wearing a smirk, and Antonio still frowning. "Yeah, I'll go get it, it's in my bag."

"All right, thank you!" Katyusha gushed and followed after him. Matthew gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes and walked away from the three guys, ignoring the snickers. When they reached the stands where the spectators sat and watched the events, Matthew saw that the camera's battery charge was full.

"Um, Katyusha, the battery is—"

"I know." Katyusha interrupted and pushed her bangs out of her eyes, fastening them with a clip. "You alright?"

Matthew swallowed and wordlessly nodded his head. Katyusha didn't know that he was sometimes picked on by the two seniors, but it wouldn't be surprising that she had picked up. Her younger brother Ivan, who was a junior was often picked on by Gilbert (Francis preferred to leave this one to him), and it was once the talk of the school when the two nearly got into a fight. She was one of the kindest seniors Matthew had ever met. Katyusha smiled and turned around, "I'm going back, thanks for the battery!"

"S-sure!" Matthew said quietly back, but he didn't know if she had heard him or not. Matthew sighed and sat down on the bench and watched as Gilbert and Francis made their way over toward a group of popular girls that were seniors also, no doubt to flirt with them. He sighed and placed his head in his hands. Of all that he would give he could just leave him alone. _Especially_ Gilbert.

But he didn't know that this was just the beginning.

**Ugh. The first chapters are _always_ the worst.**

**But please Read and Review! No matter how short, they touch my heart that you took the time to leave one! Oh...I'm getting gushy XD**

**And if there's anything you didn't understand, or found confusing, feel free to ask me about it in a review, and I'll reply to it as soon as I can! :)**

**Thank you!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh WOW! Hello everyone! Geez…**_**wasn't really expecting**_** all of the Favorites/Reviews/Alerts ._. To say that I'm shocked is an understatement. I was happy~ Thank you all so much! And I'm going to try and personally reply to all of your reviews, so if I reply to one of yours twice, I apologize!**

**Yes, this chapter is actually pretty important to the plotline. I didn't think I would post it this soon, but you know PLANS CHANGE.**

**Yes, I have twenty frickin' typed pages of all the jizz-in-your-pants reading you can get. This was a total bitch to proofread.**

**Notes are at the bottom of the page ;o**

**Enjoy!**

One week later, it was a bright and early morning. Matthew sighed and snuggled deeper into the blankets, enjoying the feeling of the pillow against his head. _If only every morning could begin like this_, Matthew thought to himself. The birds were singing, a comfortable breeze was blowing in through the window, and everything was peaceful—

_**Hello motherfucker, hey, hi, howya de'rn?**_

Matthew groaned as Alfred's alarm clock went off in the other room. It wasn't just that when his alarm clock went off, it woke up the whole family. No, it was also deemed necessary that the one song that wakes them all up will be the one that has the crudest lyrics in it. Matthew threw his pillow over his head, waiting for Alfred to turn off his alarm clock. When the song continued on, and Matthew could only guess that Alfred was sleeping right through it, he threw aside his bed sheets, walked to the door that connected their rooms, opened it, stomped over to Alfred's bed, ripped the alarm clock off of the nightstand, and pressed the 'off' button.

"Alfred, get up."

Alfred's only response was to burrow deeper into the bed sheets. Matthew reached over and yanked them off. Alfred groaned louder and curled up into himself, trying to keep as much of his body warm from the sudden cold rush of air.

"The _hell_, Mattie?" Alfred whined as he opened one eye to look blearily up at Matthew.

"That's for keeping me up till two listening to you playing Halo on your Xbox." Matthew grumbled back, "Wake up, or we'll be late for school. And I'll take the car."

"It's Halo _ODST_!" Alfred yelled back as Matthew walked out of the bedroom, "Close my bedroom door! Hey! Mattie!"

Matthew rolled his eyes, ignoring the order. When Alfred would _so kindly_ wake him up in the mornings, he'd leave the bedroom door wide open, a personal pet peeve of his. Now he was simply returning the favor. Walking back into his own bedroom, he pulled out a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt. It looked like today was going to be a nice day.

"…shit…" Matthew pulled his t-shirt on the rest of the way, then reached over for his backpack that was placed against his bed and opened it, pulling out a blue folder. Just as he feared, his twenty-five point assignment for Biology was left unfinished. Matthew groaned and placed the paper back into his folder. He didn't have enough time to do it right now, and at the same time, he couldn't just take a zero. Matthew put the backpack over his shoulder and walked down the stairs. He had a feeling that this day might not be a good one.

He walked into the kitchen, pulled out a bowl and spoon from the cabinet and grabbed a box of cereal, and the milk from the fridge then walked into the dining room and placed it all on the table and sat down. Pulling the newspaper to him that his father no doubt had left out, he began reading the front page as he ate. It said something about an oil spill down in the Gulf that still hadn't been fixed after nearly a month. Matthew felt slightly irritated. Ever since he had moved to America with his family, there were so many things that differed back from his home country, Canada. One of the biggest differences was hilariously, that in Canada, milk came in bags whereas they came in paper cartons or plastic jugs in America. But standing loyal to his country, he thought without a doubt that they would have done something about the all the oil that was spilling into the ocean by now. He liked the Canadian government better than the American one, and he guessed he was just being patriotic. He sighed. Alfred liked America a lot better though. Even though Matthew had a hard time adjusting to the way things were done, he would never voice his opinions out loud. Alfred always had a hard time back in Canada fitting in, while Matthew did just fine. It really perplexed everyone. No one really knew _why_, but that's just how it was. But when they had moved, it was like someone switched them. Alfred suddenly became extremely popular, while Matthew slowly seemed to slip into the shadows. But despite all of that, he cared enough for his brother that to finally see him enjoying himself and no longer being miserable all the time, it didn't seem to matter.

Excluding the fact that now you lived several blocks away from your cousin, Francis and every time he came to visit, he found it necessary to bring along his friends…

Matthew heard Alfred coming down the stairs and he looked up.

"Hey, Alfred?"

"What?" Alfred called from the other room. The sounds of him rummaging through cupboards could be heard.

"I forgot to finish my biology homework…"

"So?"

"I'm going to blame you." Matthew said nonchalantly as he continued looking at the newspaper, "Maybe I would have finished it if I could have heard myself actually think instead of hearing you playing Halo in the other room."

"Actually, it's Halo ODST, thank you very much." Alfred corrected Matthew for the second time and came in to the dining room, setting down a huge bowl of cereal and two slices of buttered toast. When he saw Matthew glaring at him, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Why don't you just ditch?"

"I was actually planning on doing that." Matthew rolled his eyes, "That assignment was worth twenty-five points. If I get a zero, it'll drop my grade down to a D."

"Exactly!" Alfred said with a bright smile, "Skip and all of your problems will be solved! Besides, I heard from Arthur that the teacher is a _total_ pushover. You can like, skip his class whenever and he doesn't care!"

"Wow, teachers really make us value education." Matthew stood up and pushed his chair in with his foot while he took his bowl to the kitchen.

"Hey, Mattie? Are you doing anything after school?" Alfred voice came from the other room. It sounded muffled as if he was stuffing his face with food. _Which…he probably was_,Matthew thought to himself.

"No. Why?"

"Oh. Well, can you try to get a ride with someone else? I have Gymnastics tonight, and I'll have to take the car."

Matthew sighed. "I'll just take the bus home or something."

Since Matthew and Alfred were both sixteen, they had gotten their driver's licenses near the middle of the school year. Alfred had to re-take his test nearly four times while Matthew passed it on the second try. Ironically, now that they had licenses, Alfred was the one that did more driving. Their parents had bought them one car, and much to Alfred's disappointment, he had to share it with Matthew. But in the end he didn't mind when he found out that Matthew had to stay after school so much because of Photojournalism that Alfred got the car all to himself most of the time anyway. Especially since he was the one that attended so many parties, and Matthew preferred to stay home most of the time…

Matthew glanced at the clock. "You ready to go?"

There was the sound of a spoon scraping against an empty bowl, and then Alfred appeared in the door way, lazily putting all of his plates in the sink, while Matthew had taken the time to place his in the dishwasher. Alfred reached for the car keys that were hanging on the wall by the phone then stopped.

"Hey, there's a note from mom." He gently took it off the wall and handed it to Matthew then turned to walk out the door. Matthew took it and raised his eyebrow.

"Why do I have to read it?" He inquired as he closed the door behind him.

"Because." Alfred smiled and jingled the keys, "I'm too busy focusing on the road so that we don't crash and die and all that crazy shit. You don't want to die, do you Mattie? Because I'm pretty sure that _I_ don't want to di-"

"Alright Alfred, I get the point." Matthew sighed and opened the note. A twenty dollar bill slipped out and he picked it up while he read. The sound of Alfred closing the car door and starting the engine was quieted to a drone as Matthew's heart sank to his stomach while he read the contents. When he finished, he turned and walked over to the car. He looked at Alfred's face through the windshield and saw that based on his expression, he had a pretty good idea what Matthew was about to tell him. Matthew opened the car door, threw his backpack into the backseat and handed Alfred the note.

"She says that she won't be home until late tonight and she left us money for take out."

Alfred sighed and threw the note into the glove compartment without even reading it. Most people when they hear about the neighborhood and they see the house Alfred and Matthew live in, they become instantly envious. There was no doubt about it, considering they lived in one of the largest houses in the one of the richest neighborhoods within the city. But with everything, there came a consequence. Both their parents worked jobs that often left Alfred and Matthew alone in the large house for days and they'd have to fend for themselves.

Matthew sighed and stared out the window as Alfred stopped at a red light, the earlier boisterous mood coming from his brother now dulled to make the atmosphere in the car slightly unbearable. Matthew saw a little girl was walking with her dad, a business looking man wearing a tie. Both had smiles on their faces as they walked, hands clasped across the street. Matthew hated to admit it, but he remembered and missed those times when his mother and father would hold each him and Alfred's hands as they would walk across a street, smiles on their own faces.

It didn't happen suddenly, but slowly, and when it finally sunk in on both brothers, it hit them where it hurt the most. Both remember seeing their parents a lot more when they were younger. But slowly as they grew older, all the promises their parents made about going to the next hockey game, or tickets to that show they wanted to see so much, slowly had to be broken because they were simply too busy with work. They understood. Their parents were busy. There was always 'next time'. When they moved to America because their father got a better job offer, sometimes it would be days until they would see their dad again. He would come home late at night, after they were both asleep, then he'd have to leave again early in the morning. Their mother was still there, but once their father was repeatedly absent from their life, it affected Alfred the most. Doing things most father and son would do, like playing football, or working on cars, suddenly came to an end. Matthew did more stuff with his mom since he was quieter and more withdrawn, so he didn't feel it quite to the full extent as Alfred had. And then it started with their mom. She would come home late some nights and apologize fervently, making just the three of them dinner. But then slowly she stopped apologizing, and there were nights were she wouldn't even make it home until midnight. Then, one rare night in which the four of them were all sitting together at the dinner table, their mom announced that she had been promoted in her job, and that she'd be going on a lot more business trips. She had been excited, and Matthew had swallowed back his anger that had risen in his throat like bile and forced a smile onto his face, congratulating her. Alfred had not done the same. The more outspoken of the two, he had stopped eating, and looked down at his lap and quietly said three words.

"What about us?"

He had asked the words right out of Matthew's mouth. What about us? Don't you know how much we miss you two? And now you'll be gone even more! At that point in their life, their father had started traveling across the state.

But their mother had just smiled. "You're old enough now to take care of yourself."

Alfred hadn't looked her in the eye the entire time, and wordlessly, he stood up and walked out of the room.

They had both been fourteen.

And then just over the previous summer, Matthew and Alfred's sixteenth birthday had been coming up and their father had called and promised—_promised!_—that he would be home to celebrate with them. Alfred had egged and eventually got his father to agree that he would take them to football game that just so conveniently rested on the same date as their birthday. Despite Matthew's dislike for the sport, he was happy also. Who cared if it was football, he was going to see his father again!

The next day the phone had rung.

Matthew remembered it so well. He had been messing around with one of the school's cameras that they allowed students to take home and the phone rang throughout the house. Most of the time it would be someone from a business calling, and they had been instructed by both parents to just let the call go to the answering machine. But when Matthew glanced at the caller ID on his phone that he had in his bedroom, it came up at his dad's cell phone. He quickly answered it and was about to say 'hello' when Alfred's voice interrupted him. He had picked up on the other phone line.

"Hello?" Matthew heard his brother say through the phone.

"_Hello, Alfred?"_

"Hey dad, what's up?" Alfred's voice instantly brightened, and he sounded like he was years younger.

"_A lot of things Alfred. Something happened, and my schedule is as busy as ever. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to take you and Matthew to the game."_

There was a deafening silence aside from the noise of phones ringing and secretaries speaking to their father on the other end. Matthew swallowed. This _had_ to be a dream…a nightmare…

"_Alfred, are you still there? Could you please tell Matthew—Alfred?"_

There was another brief silence and then, "But you…you promised—"

"_Look Alfred, I know. And I'm sorry, but a lot of things came up, and it's either me or the other guy that's going to get promoted, and I can't risk to slack off now. This is really important for my job, and I hope that you and Matthew can understand that."_

"But Dad-!"

But he hadn't heard him. He was giving orders to some other secretary, and when he finally got back on the phone, he simply said, _"Alfred, I'm sorry, but I can't talk for long, I have to go. Be good, alright? Goodbye."_

The click on the other end was like the pull of a trigger. Matthew was shocked, his eyes wide. In a flash he stood up and quietly opened the door that adjoined their bedrooms.

"Alf-"

Alfred stood with his back to him his head lowered as he stared at the phone in his hands. Matthew watched as his grip tightened around the phone, the plastic making a cracking noise. And then his shoulders began to shake every once in a while as he sniffed quietly. Matthew looked down and backed out of the room. Five minutes later, Alfred had burst into the room complaining that he was hungry and acting as if nothing had happened. But deep down, he knew that on the inside Alfred was hurt just as much as he was, and no one could deny the fact that they just wanted their parents to come back and be parents. Matthew thought wistfully, he'd give up almost everything to have his parents, even if they became a typical dysfunctional family. In the end, he was willing to have that instead.

"—attie! Hey!"

Matthew jumped and opened his eyes. He had dozed off. They were already at the school. Matthew grabbed his backpack and threw it over his shoulder as he got out of the car. Alfred pulled the key out of the ignition and walked up next to him. Since they weren't seniors, they didn't have permits to park in the school parking lot, so they had to park on the street just outside of school grounds, then walk up the sidewalk to the school.

"We're going to get Chinese tonight." Alfred stated and Matthew grinned.

"You mean American-Chinese? They don't actually eat that stuff in China."

Alfred scoffed. "Their loss. It's Chicken Lo Mein for me all the way."

"Oh wow, you're going for extra MSG tonight?"

"Haha, you're so funny Mattie."

Matthew reached into his backpack and took out a pass. "So, how's _Iggy_ doing?"

Alfred acted like he had hadn't been affected by the words, but his cheeks turned a bit red. He looked away as he reached into his pants pocket to pull out a pass.

"He's fine."

"I heard you tried to get him to play Halo with you the other night, did it all go well?"

Alfred gave Matthew a look and his grin only grew.

"Goddammit, Halo _ODST_. Get it right. And he said he'd rather read books and drink tea."

"He did not. You're making up the tea part."

"Alright then, he said he'd rather read books and smoke a fag."

Matthew laughed and Alfred sighed. Feeling (only a little) bad, Matthew coughed into his hand as they began walking up the staircase to the entrance of the school. "Well, I'm sure he's just not into video games. Don't worry about it, he likes you just fine."

"I know, but—" Alfred stopped in front of one of the five security guards that stood outside of the school doors. He and Matthew both handed them the passes which were plastic cards the same size as a credit card complete with their full names, photo identification, and age on it. The security guards took their cards, nodded, and then handed them back. Everyday, each student had to present their own card upon entering the school, and if they ever had to leave early. Hetalia International was such a large school, parents and much of the school board had a fear that someone unidentified could sneak in among the students and not be seen. And their fears had been realized nearly several months before Matthew and Alfred had arrived in America. In just one year alone, there had been several bomb threats, and once someone that been reported to be a senior's boyfriend had come into the school with a knife. He had looked the same age as the other kids, since he just out of high school, and they said the reason behind him trying to get into the school was that he was angry about a fight he had with his girlfriend that went to the school. The state was appalled. To fund a school that had simply overlooked and just missed that someone had snuck into the school was highly unacceptable. Luckily no one had been hurt those times, but it had risen the standards for the school. If they wanted to keep up their great reputation, they would have to improve their rules. So there came the nifty idea that each student be given their own personal ID that they would have to present to the school, and if they didn't have it on them, they shouldn't be surprised if their parents were called, and the cops were brought in. Punishments at the school had become intense, and not many kids dared to step out of line, since the security guards that were hired all looked like they stepped out for every lunch break to 'chug a few 'roids'.

"I know, but it's just like he's always mad at me about something." Alfred said in an irritated tone as they walked through the doors.

"Well, you are kind of—"

"Oh, shut up." Alfred grinned and shoved Matthew, "since when were you such an expert?"

Arthur was a junior that had a British accent and after they had met, Alfred told Matthew that he wanted to be friends with him. Oh, right. _Friends_. Of course, all of Alfred's previous advances hadn't worked out too well in the end, but Alfred was persisting for his goal anyway. If there was one thing they had inherited from their father, it was his tenacious attitude. Matthew had never seen Alfred struggle at something, since succeeding seemed to come naturally for him, so it was fun for him to watch and see what happened.

Matthew grinned and shoved him back, Alfred began to walk away going to his homeroom. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Later." Matthew called back and watched as Alfred disappeared into the thick crowd of people in just a matter of seconds. Once he disappeared out of Matthew's sight, he instantly felt as if he were shrinking. Matthew was alone now, surrounded by so many students that he didn't even know. Taking a deep breath, he bowed his head and made his way through the crowd as fast as he could.

After standing for the Pledge of Allegiance, and listening to the National Anthem (sometimes Matthew would hum the 'Canadian Anthem' in his head too, just to be fair.) and the morning announcements were finished, the bell for first period rung and Matthew walked to his first class: Geometry.

He sat down with a sigh. He averaged the class with a C and the once in a while B, and he did all of his homework. But what got him in the class were the tests. Just like the one he was being given back today. As the teacher passed back everyone's tests, Matthew could feel his heart start to race. He hated the anticipation when he already knew that the grade wasn't going to be good. The teacher walked past his desk and placed the paper on it, facedown. Matthew placed his hand on top of the paper and turned it over slowly and sighed quietly when he saw that the grade was a D. He leaned back in his chair and heard the bubbly voice of Feliciano as he gushed out loud, "Oh! I got a really, really good grade! I have to thank Ludwig for that! He's so smart! He's in Functions, Statistics and Trigonometry, did you know? That's very, very smart for a junior-"

"Feliciano, shut up or I swear I'll make you—"

"Alright Romano. Don't start until I'm finished teaching." The teacher silenced Romano and the whole class laughed. It wasn't unusual to hear Romano suddenly burst out at someone, and most people have found it almost entertaining to watch him as he would become more and more passionate in his little lecture about why he was so angry. Matthew smiled slightly but his eyes continued to drift over onto his paper. He didn't want to remember, but every time he looked at the D, his mind always wandered back to the time his mom had once told them about how she had been one of the highest scoring students in her geometry class. Matthew looked wistfully at the test, the D seeming to jump out at him. If only she were here now, then maybe the class would actually make a little more sense.

The bell rang, and Matthew walked out of the class, his feet feeling like they were dragging. The sudden thought about his parents seemed to rain down on him, and it didn't help that his next class was biology, which he was going to skip. Walking past a trash can, his hand hovered above it with the test and he almost let go when something inside him gripped his heart tightly.

_What if my mom comes home tomorrow?_

_What if she wants to see my test score? Maybe she can show me what I did wrong! Then I won't do as bad next time!_

Matthew's hand retreated from the trash and he stuffed the paper into his backpack. He didn't want to admit to himself that what he was thinking was hopeless, or that he sounded like a desperate psychotic, because for him it was all he had. And like every other time he received a math test, he'd always almost throw it away, then suddenly think twice, and take it home to be placed with a stack of a hundred other tests from math he'd collected over the years, hoping that his mother would have enough time to look over them with him.

Security cameras were installed all around the school, and there were two places that they weren't placed. The first was all of the bathrooms. The second was the staircase behind the cafeteria. Because the staircase was only used during the lunch hours, no one went up them until then, thus making it a great place to skip class and hide out. Matthew looked up and down the hallways as the late bell rang and saw that no one was watching. As quietly as he could, he began walked up the staircase, and sat down, placing his head in his hands and closing his eyes. He had skipped a few times before, and it was nice to be able to sit somewhere quiet, and just think. After a few moments, he pulled his head back, wondering if what Alfred had said what Arthur had told him about his biology teacher was true. He really hoped he wouldn't care, since skipping class was an instant suspension. Matthew shrugged. He'd find a way out of it. Alfred was his brother, after all. He reached over to his backpack and pulled out his biology paper and figured to himself that since the paper was the reason he was skipping, he might as well do it.

He was nearly halfway through with the paper when a sound made him look up.

_Footsteps_.

The only people that would be walking through the hallway during classes would be people with bathroom passes, hall runners, and security guards. And they were walking right toward them.

So Matthew began checking the list off in his head. And it got checked off pretty fast. Since no students had any reason to be in the staircase until lunchtime, it wouldn't be anyone with a pass or a hall runner. So it had to be a security guard.

Tensing up and careful not to make any noise, Matthew waited in silence hoping the guard would simply pass back the doorway and keep walking without noticing him. The footsteps became louder, and louder until…

Matthew saw the person stop and look in the staircase at him, and he was glad it wasn't a security guard, but wished it had been at the same time.

Out of the three thousand students that attended the school, just one out of those three thousand people that happened to be ditching class also…

"What the hell, shortie! I thought you were too good to ditch!"

Matthew grimaced and stared at Gilbert annoyed, "Well, that's just one more thing you don't know about me." When Gilbert was with Francis, Matthew was helpless, but when he was alone, Matthew found that he could whip out the insults. One-on-one was much fairer anyway. His eyes wandered down to Gilbert's right knee and saw that he was wearing a brace around it. He noted to himself that he hadn't seen it last week, and wondered if it had hurt. The small sadistic voice in the back of his head hoped it had. Matthew looked up and glared at Gilbert, "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Oh, nah." Gilbert said sarcastically, "You know, I was about to ask you the same thing!"

"Well, unlike you I have a reason, where you're probably just ditching because you think you're awesome like that."

"Why, thank you, I do in fact find myself awesome. Sorry, I'm not sharing any of it. Oh, but you can take a picture, it'll last longer."

Matthew rolled his eyes and looked back down at the biology paper. The fact that his head what full of a buzzing anger toward Gilbert made it impossible for him to concentrate on the paper, so he just pretended to work on it, and doodled some pictures on the side. When he realized that Gilbert was still there, learning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face, Matthew glanced up.

"What? Not ditching with your two buddies?" he said venomously, while at the same time he wondered why Gilbert was alone. He was almost _never_ alone. Gilbert's smirk fell and he stared dumbfounded at Matthew. "You seriously don't know? Francis is your fucking _cousin_."

Matthew raised his head and stared at Gilbert like he had said the most obvious thing ever. "Okay? I know he's my cousin?"

There was a silence between both of them and Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Wow. Okay, I can't believe you don't know, but they both got sent to the two different schools, remember? Because of what happened?"

Matthew bit his lip and acted like he was trying to remember, while at the same time, he made a mental note to ask someone that was into the gossip chain later. He lowered his head back to the paper and continued to draw spirals. "Hmmm…what a shame." And while at the same time he shouted in his head, _And they had to leave the worse one here for me to deal with!_

"But this actually works out in the end, shortie. You can do _me_ a favor."

Matthew looked up again. "You make it sound like I'd want to do you a favor."

Gilbert smiled dazzlingly and looked as if he were reminiscing. "Man, you should see the girls. They practically throw their virginity at me just so that they can do me a favor. Oh, you can throw me yours too, but I might not use it. Sorry, just saying."

Matthew felt his fist under his paper clench. "And if I don't want to do you a favor?"

Gilbert's smirk disappeared again, but this time Matthew wanted to take the words back. The look Gilbert was giving him was…dangerous…almost murderous. Matthew suddenly wondered what the heck he, Francis, and Antonio had done to get them in trouble.

"How about you do?"

Matthew continued to stare at Gilbert, amazed that he could actually sound serious, and at the same time, slowly nodding his head.

Gilbert's smirk suddenly returned.

"Alright, that's more like it." And Gilbert slowly walked up the steps until they were just a foot apart. Matthew's eyes widened as they were brought up to size. Just two steps down, and Gilbert towered over him anyway. Matthew stared back into Gilbert's eyes. They were a brilliant red. He remembered learning something in biology about albinos and why their eyes were red, but he couldn't really remember at the moment. He just felt like prey left helplessly in front of the predator that was hungry and he had no way out.

"Since you and Francis are such good cousins, it shouldn't be too hard for you to get the telephone number of where he lives now, and what school he goes to. And then," Gilbert pulled out a pen from his pocket and before Matthew could stop him, he began writing a number at the top of Matthew's Biology homework, "You can hook me up."

Gilbert pocketed the pen, and straightened up. "Nice drawings."

And Matthew stared down at the paper and looked at the drawings as if he were seeing them for the first time. When he looked back up, Gilbert was gone. At that time two things were running through his head.

One, he vaguely wondered if the number was Gilbert's home number or cell phone number.

And two, his Biology paper was ruined.

**Author notes:**

**The song that plays at the beginning of this chapter is 'I'm Going In' by Drake. Seriously that one sentence is the only part of the entire song that I like. Ironically, it's sung by Lil Wayne. **

**In the beginning of the chapter, it states, "it woke up the whole family" Basically, I'm referring to the fact that even though Alfred and Matthew's parents are hardly home, Matthew likes to refer to them as if they are.**

**Alfred does Gymnastics classes because he's in a Hip-Hop dance class. It's mostly just floor work, you know, to practice their flips and break dance stuff and…stuff. **

**Believe it or not, there are actually parents out there like this. I read an autobiography about someone that their parents put down her dog simply because they thought it ruined their whole 'rich and fancy' get up.**

**Matthew's in the typical classes a sophomore at high school would be in. Since typically by tenth grade, you'd be in biology and geometry. Well…I was…**

**Alfred and Matthew have summer birthdays.**

**We have security cameras and a bunch of guards at our school. Our school isn't bad or anything, but five years ago someone brought a BB gun to the school…but it was a BB gun…whatever. And there was a bomb threat at one of the elementary schools…at an **_**elementary school**_**. But the school Matthew and Alfred go to is a famous public school that has a huge reputation, so it's not uncommon for big schools to overreact.**

**Okay, is that enough Author notes for you? PFFFFT. Well, thanks for bearing with me!**

**Please Read and Review, it would mean so much to me! :)**

**Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay. I updated.**

**Ye reviews and favorites are making me want to gobble all of you up. Thank for you liking my story so much!**

**I smell like chlorine... Mmmm, pool water…**

**Enjoy! ^^**

Matthew sat through the rest of the day barely paying attention to any of his classes. It wasn't like he was going to really miss anything. They practically didn't do anything anymore since the end of school was just in two weeks. The hands of the clock seemed to go slower and slower. Matthew was stuck at a crossroad. So what would he do?

He hated Gilbert. If it weren't for the fact that he had such a huge advantage on him, he would have refused outright. (Which, he had tried to, Matthew reminded himself as he remembered the murderous look Gilbert had given him.)

Ever since he had first met Gilbert, there was an aura about him. Matthew didn't know how to place it, but when he would be with Francis at his house and he would see them laugh and exchange jokes, there was something about it. It wasn't…jovial. It was more… cruel.

_What did Gilbert deserve?_ Matthew thought to himself. Gilbert had always tried to find ways to make his days miserable, and thought it was the most fun in the world. People like that made Matthew angry. It wasn't as if Matthew was going to do what he told him to.

He thought about when Gilbert had almost looked ready to kill him when Matthew hinted that he didn't want to do the favor. Had he gotten angry because he was used to people doing what he told them to? Or did he get angry because…

He needed his help?

Matthew couldn't possibly _fathom_ Gilbert the Great asking for his help. For starters, Gilbert was hugely popular, well known despite their school being so large, great looking, and he could practically date anyone he wanted. He was known to be a riot at parties, and there have been rumors that he had once flirted with one of his teachers and convinced her to change all of his grades to an A in the class.

And Matthew was…well, just Matthew.

He sighed. Just Matthew. That sounded about right. That sounded like him. Looking up to the front of his History class, he watched as the teacher presented a PowerPoint about something that had to do with Watergate and absentmindedly wrote down the notes in his notebook. He knew that the teacher was just throwing in some final grades for any kids that wanted one last chance to raise their grades in case they were failing, but Matthew acted like he was paying attention anyway.

But Gilbert asking for his help? Matthew had to be interpreting that wrong. And above all, couldn't he have just gone and asked Francis' parents himself if he wanted to know that badly?

Matthew took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. He had no idea what to do. At that point, he couldn't just say no to Gilbert, it was already too late, but at the same time, he couldn't just go up and find out this information for Gilbert while expecting something in return.

Because, let's face it. Gilbert would be the type of person that you help them with something _really_ important, but in the end, what thanks would you get? Matthew was pretty sure that if Gilbert hadn't found out where Francis was by now, it was going to be a bit hard to find it himself. And being the fact Gilbert was the tormentor, and Matthew the tormented, he had a pretty good idea he would take the address and phone number then just turn and walk away.

Matthew ground his teeth as he imagined the scene. It made him so frustrated. In spite of it, he should just give Gilbert a fake address and number. Matthew brightened up at the idea. It would be great payback for all the times he had made Matthew squirmed in discomfort.

_But, no_…he deflated when he thought about what would happen after. Gilbert wouldn't merrily waltz away and never be seen again. No, he would most likely find Matthew, beat him to a pulp, and then leave him in a dumpster.

Or at least, imagination Gilbert would…

Matthew placed his head in his hands. He was getting no where, and he had a headache.

"Matthew dear, what's wrong?" A concerned voice made him look over.

He was sitting in his final period of the day, Photojournalism. Since there were no more sports, and all the pictures for the academics, clubs, and classes had been taken for the yearbook, there was nothing else to do in the class but have study halls. It was nice, getting to just sit around for the final class of the day, and since their teacher was so lax, the students all talked to each other, did their homework, and some kids went to other study halls to hang out with their friends. Of the whole year, this class had been Matthew's favorite. He loved photography, and was so excited when they had offered the elective to him when he first moved to America. The school he went to in Canada had a yearbook staff, but not a photo class.

Katyusha was looking at him, a worried look on her face. Matthew really liked her. When she worried about someone, she always added 'dear' at the end of their names, and cared for practically everyone like she was a mother. Only two other kids were in the class at the moment. A junior with curly brown hair sitting with her legs propped up on the table across from them, listening to her iPod and appeared to be sleeping with the hood of her jacket pulled over her head, and a sophomore that was absorbed in a book called, _I Am the Messenger_. The rest of the class was elsewhere. There weren't many students in the class. When Matthew first applied, he was instructed to write a single paragraph essay explaining why he wanted to do the class. Only fifteen students altogether did the class, making it a huge privilege to get picked.

"Eh?" Matthew quietly said, wondering if he had looked like he was about to cry. "Uh, no…no, I'm fine…"

Katyusha sighed, and studied him for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay? You can tell me if you want…"

Matthew smiled slightly. "No, it's nothing, I'm fine…"

Katyusha smiled softly back. Matthew had no other way of describing it. If you could see someone smile softly, Katyusha could. There was no doubt.

"I'm going to stay after today since the teacher asked me to put away photo equipment. Do you want to help me?"

Matthew suddenly remembered that Alfred was going to take the car. He had completely forgotten that fact because of all that had happened with Gilbert.

"Sure, I'm not doing anything today…"

Katyusha brightened. "Great! Katie was going to stay after with me, but she ended up having last minute choral practice, so it kind of…yeah. I can give you a ride home whenever we're finished if you want."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"Don't worry about it! I give people rides all the time. It's no big deal, darling."

That's another thing she called people. Dear and darling.

Eric, one of the few boys that took the class alongside Matthew, walked into the room and hung one of the hall passes on the wall. He had a paper in his hands and he looked at it with a troubled expression on his face.

"Hey Kat, remember those pictures we took of the Varsity softball team?"

Katyusha looked like she was confused. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

Eric sighed, "Well, did you save the copy on the computer? Because the teacher just told us that they lost the other picture…"

Katyusha suddenly gasped and had an alarmed look on her face, "No. Oh my goodness, I deleted the copy because I thought they wouldn't need it. Oh my gosh, what are we going to do? I'm so sorry, I'm so so so sorry…oh my gosh, what's going to happen? I was only trying to help, but I ended up ruining everything, oh no…"

She was practically hyperventilating when Eric laughed and sat down next to her.

"Kat, calm down, I was just kidding! They don't need a copy, I was just lying. See? The paper is just something about a class picnic. It's okay, calm down."

Matthew rolled his eyes, but grinned slightly as he lowered his head and pretended to work. Katyusha sometimes became extremely nervous, and when she was on a roll, it was entertaining to watch her go, but at the same time, she would most likely pass out since she would forget to breathe as she freaked out. Eric was a year younger than Katyusha and had a huge crush on her, but everyone knew that he had no chance, since he didn't have the guts to ask her out. Even if he had a crush on his own pinky finger, he wouldn't have enough courage to ask it out. But he seemed happy enough just to talk to her. _Or least tease her…_Matthew mused to himself.

"Where does the box with the blue tape on it go?"

Katyusha twisted the lens off of a camera and looked over at Matthew holding a box that was labeled, "Developer/Stop bath"

"Umm…oh. In the back closet. You'll see other ones like it."

"Alright, thanks." Matthew turned and carried the box in the back of the storage room. He found the other boxes with blue tape across the top, and placed it next to them. When they had told their teacher they were going to help put the stuff away, he practically had a heart attack; he was shocked anyone had offered. He hinted that he wanted help, but he hadn't actually thought anyone was going to volunteer. Matthew walked back and wordlessly picked up a camera and helped Katyusha. He opened the back and took out the memory card, picked off the tape on it that had a number written in permanent marker on it, then placed it in a box. "Hey Katyusha?" He asked as casually possible.

"Yes?"

"Um…I noticed that Antonio and Francis have been gone, and someone told me that they go to different schools now. Do you happen to know why? Since, you know, they're in your grade and everything…"

Katyusha stopped sorting through a box filled with printing paper for a moment and looked at him thoughtfully.

"So, that's what happened to them? I was wondering about that…"

"Well, don't take my word for it, I just heard…"

"No, a lot of people heard a lot of things, but that's probably the most believable. Do you know anything else?"

Matthew stopped, "Uh…no, I, I didn't hear anything else, that's why I was asking you."

Katyusha nodded, "I see. Well, problem is, I have no idea. No one in our class really actually knows. All that we heard was that Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis all got in trouble for something. We know it was bad enough since those two weren't in school after that."

"Have you…have you heard anything?"

"No…it's really odd. A lot of people have theories, but most likely the administration is probably trying to keep it on the down low. Because if it was really _that bad_—"

_Then the school's reputation would be screwed over_, Matthew finished in his head. "That makes sense. But it's still…weird."

Katyusha nodded, "I agree. Weird and a little…creepy, you know? If you really think about it."

Matthew mused over it. It was being treated like this huge secret around the school, but the strangest thing was, Gilbert had acted like he thought Matthew already knew what had happened. And now that Matthew thought about it, they hadn't heard anything of it and Francis was his _cousin_. Like most people, the whole fact that the school made it all seem like this big secret, only made him want to find out what had happened even more.

Once they were done, Matthew and Katyusha walked across the parking lot as she pulled her car keys out of her purse. The car she owned was a simple 2006 white Impala, but it was really nice. Matthew had gotten a ride home from her before when his parents couldn't pick him up from hockey practice. She had recognized him from Photojournalism, and offered to drop him off since she was picking up her younger brother anyway. He opened the passenger side and sat down, placing his backpack by his feet. When Katyusha sat down on the driver's side and put the key in the ignition, she sighed. "I can't believe that school's almost over for us. It actually feels like we've really only been here for a week, it went by so fast."

Matthew agreed and suddenly felt sad. Katyusha was a senior, and she had told Matthew that once she graduated, she was going to try and get a job out by Russia, her brother's home country. He hadn't actually realized right until then how much he would miss her. She was one of the first people to introduce him with open arms. She was like the mother he had always wanted.

When she pulled up to his house, he got out of the car and turned to her with a smile. "Katyusha, thank you."

"You're welcome!" Katyusha beamed, thinking he was thanking her for just the car ride. He waved bye to her as she pulled away, then walked up the steps to his house. He knew that Alfred was already home, since the car was in the driveway, and he opened the door. The smell of Chinese food filled the air.

"Wow, Alfred. You couldn't wait for me?" Matthew said as he walked through the entrance hall into the dining room.

"I was hungrryyyy~" Alfred whined as he pulled out a carton of what could only be Alfred's favorite; Chicken Lo Mein. "But I got you some frickin' Bourbon Chicken and some Sesame, because I'm such a great brother like that…"

Matthew grinned. Sometimes having Alfred as a brother was like a never ending rollercoaster.

"Oh yeah. I only brought home chop sticks. I'm going to try and eat this with chop sticks."

Matthew raised an eyebrow, "Why? Is this a big deal?"

Alfred nodded and tried to look serious. "A _big_ deal."

"Well, if you're going to be so busy trying to eat with chop sticks, I guess that means I call hockey…" And before Alfred could protest, Matthew shot off to the living room. He spotted the remote on the couch and made a dive for it, but Alfred somehow managed to beat him to it.

"Hey!" Matthew made a grab for the remote, "We're not watching some goddamn show like _Entertainment Tonight_!"

Alfred grinned and switched on the TV. Surround sound and a TV screen big enough that it seemed like a mini theater, Matthew watched breathless as he surfed through the channels until he landed on…

Matthew sighed in relief, "You dick. Don't scare me like that."

Alfred grinned and threw the remote at him, "ET isn't on until eight, so you're in luck."

"Whether I'm in luck or not, _you're_ the one that's lucky I wasn't going to kill you. These are the _finales_. If I had missed it-"

"Yeah, you watch your beloved hockey. I'm going to get the food."

Matthew grinned and rolled his eyes.

As Matthew watched the hockey players race back and forth on the ice, his mind was somewhere else. He laughed as Alfred tried to use the chop sticks properly, then when he became frustrated that Matthew could use them better than him. But at the same time, he was still thinking about what Gilbert had told him to do. He thought to himself: Should he really help Gilbert?

It was when the hockey game was in the final minutes did he think of a plan. When they ordered Chinese food, the cooks always threw in several fortune cookies with the take-out. Reaching into the bag, Matthew pulled one out and removed the plastic wrapping from it. He made a bargain with himself. If the fortune sounded like it was encouraging him, he would go find out where Francis was. But if the fortune advised he be cautious, he would take it as a sign that he shouldn't help Gilbert nor Francis. He took a deep breath, cracked open the cookie, and pulled out the slip. His eyes scanned over what it said, just as the final buzzer sounded through the speakers.

"**The tasks you will have to complete will be complicated, but will hold great rewards."**

Matthew groaned inwardly and sunk into the couch. That was a sign, if anything.

_Tomorrow…_He thought to himself, _Tomorrow I'll get the information, give it to Gilbert, then that will be that._

But little did he know that this, my dear readers, was just the beginning.

**So, I'm posting this pretty late in the day, and it's because I thought I was going to have Gymnastics tonight, but those people that run the place are on crack, and for some reason gave me the wrong date…I am mad, and in my anger, I have posted a chapter. LATE.  
But it's all chill, I guess. My white bikini came in the mail today, and I was so excited that when I opened it, I cut my hand with the scissors. I'm so retarded.**

**I'm going to see if I can post the next chapter tomorrow, but don't expect anything until late that night, or the day after :)**

**And a special thank you to my friend that mentioned to me that my profile picture looks like I'm high. I now feel the major need to change it. **

**Notes:**

**The book the sophomore was reading was **_**I Am the Messenger **_**by Markus Zusak. An amazing book. Read it ;)**

**And…Eric will only be featured a second time. He's not major to the plot, I just wanted to show that Katyusha is still that sweet nervous nelly :)**

**Photojournalism at our school was like that. After we completed all of the assignments, it was just a free period for the rest of the year. Twas beast.**

**I made up the fortune by myself (:**

**Ummm…yeah. They made me complete an essay about why I wanted to do Photojournalism in tenth grade. Great times.  
**

**Thank you all! And please Read and Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yup. This chapter is initially where the story officially 'begins' :)**

**Enjoy! **

Amelia Bonnefoy was a beautiful woman who looked nearly twenty years younger than her actual age. She was a retired fashion designer, and anyone with eyes could tell that it was from her in which Francis had gotten his looks. She had been twenty-four when she met her husband James Bonnefoy. He was just an ordinary journalist that was traveling across the world, but when they met in France, they instantly fell in love, and several months later they had married. Amelia had agreed to move with him to America, his home country, and gave up her job so that she could be with him. It was like a romance story with a happy ending.

Of course, they hadn't expected her to become pregnant.

Francis was her first and only child. She loved him more than anything. But apparently James didn't feel the same way. The two years upon following his birth were extremely rocky, James and Amelia constantly fought, James refusing to do his part in taking care of the child. Eventually he bailed out not ready for a kid, and they divorced. Amelia gained full custody rights to Francis, and she moved as far away from James that she could afford, and raised her son by herself. Now, the only time they ever come in contact with each other would be matters of child support, which came in a nice little check every month.

She swore to herself that she would never fall in love again after what had happened, and it would just be her and Francis. But just a few years ago when Francis was entering middle school, she had met Henry.

She was glad with her life. She and Henry had been dating since then and were very much in love. Francis was tolerant with Henry, and it was nice to sometimes see them act like they were father and son, despite how different they looked. She was still dating him, but every time she thought about it, if he were to eventually ask her hand in marriage, she was going to say 'yes' in a heartbeat. This time she was sure that he was the right choice.

At that moment, she was home alone. She was rubbing her forehead as she sat on the couch and read through a book on crime and law, a troubled look on her face. Days when she was home alone, especially on the weekends, she would try her hardest to distract herself, to keep herself from thinking about Francis. He had always behaved well, and had good manners. When she had found out he had involved in the-

The ring of the doorbell made her jump slightly. She wasn't expecting anyone. But then again, it was probably just the UPS man. She often got gifts from her mother back in France, sending her miscellaneous items such as expensive clothing. She never really knew why, but her mother really liked to spend money on her, even if she wasn't living in the house anymore. Or maybe she was just bitterly reminding her of the marriage that failed and caused her to love her job that she had worked so hard for. Even from the beginning her mother hadn't approved of James. She placed the book on the table and stood up. When she peeked through the window, she was surprised to see it was one of her nephews. She pulled open the door.

Matthew jumped slightly. He hadn't been expecting her to answer the door that quickly."H-hi, Aunt Amelia…"

"Matthew!" She said in a greeting and leaned forward, kissing both of his cheeks. "Please. Call me Amelia, dear." She could tell it was him since he grew his hair slightly longer than his twin brother, Alfred. "Come inside! What brings you here?"

Matthew gave a small smile and stepped into the house. His aunt was really nice, and always smelled like some exquisite perfume. He could just see the surprise written on her face when she opened the door. Matthew never came to visit unless he was forced to. He loved his aunt, but he couldn't stop by, especially with the risk of Francis being there to amuse himself by making fun of him. Unlike his house, this house was pretty normal. A lot smaller, but it had a nice feeling to it.

"Sit down, sit down." She urged him and waved toward the couch. Matthew sat down and watched as she walked into the other room. "Would you like anything to drink, darling?"

"Uh…water's fine. Thank you." Matthew said, trying to keep his voice normal despite how nervous he was. He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from fidgeting. On the drive over, Matthew couldn't think of a plan, he was just too nervous. But figured that the best he could do is talk to her and casually ask her about Francis. All he knew was that he didn't want to stay long. He felt that feeling of guilt welling up in his stomach already. His aunt walked back in with the water and he took it, quietly telling her thanks. His hands were shaking so much, he tried to hide it by holding the glass of water.

"So, how have your parents been, Matthew?" She asked and sat down in a chair across from him.

"Oh, they're fine." Matthew replied and placed the water down on the table before continuing. He had a feeling that if he didn't stop shaking by now, he was going to drop the glass. "They still work pretty late, but when I see them, they're doing well."

"That's nice." She smiled. His aunt understood the situation they were in, and was sympathetic. Matthew was grateful for her concern, but hated it that people looked at them with pity when they found out about their family situation. It wasn't as if anyone had died. Matthew didn't have anything to offer to the comment, and decided to just let her do the talking instead. That seemed to be working pretty well so far. "How's school been for you? I can't believe it's almost over, can you?"

He shook his head, "Y-yeah, it went by really fast. My one friend even said it was like we were only there for a week." He placed his hands on his knees to try and stop them from shaking.

"Oh, you just wait. When you get to be my age, everything will go by and seem like only a week." She said with a wistful tone in her voice as if she were thinking of the past.

Matthew laughed softly, then looked down and reached for the glass of water, taking a sip, his mouth had gone dry. Her asking about school had made her think of Francis, then of Gilbert, and the fact of why he was here in the first place.

Amelia tilted her head as she looked at him. He seemed nervous. Then again, he always had been the less bold of the two, but today he seemed even more…

"How's Alfred been?"

"Oh he's, he's doing fine." Matthew stared down at his lap and decided that it was now or never. "Aunt Amelia—"

"Please dear, call me Amelia."

"Amelia." Matthew corrected, "Um, is…is Francis home?"

The room instantly grew quiet, and Amelia's eyes widened. She had tried to act as normal as possible, but the question had caught her off guard. Matthew was such a sweet boy, she could tell him. He wouldn't do any harm. But the school had told her…on instinct, her hand reached forward and touched her address book on the coffee table. She saw Matthew glance at it, and she drew her hand back suddenly.

Lie. She had to lie. She couldn't stand to admit the truth now that Francis, her only son had done such a thing.

"Oh, he's not here. He's…on an extended vacation. He won't be home until the end of the summer. Why do you ask, dear?"

Matthew's breath caught in his throat. He didn't really have a reason. He had been distracted by the fact that his aunt kept glancing at the address book on the table. "Uh…"

The phone rang in the other room, and his aunt quickly got up. "I should get that. I'll be back in a moment." And she walked out of the room.

Matthew didn't hesitate. His heart hammering, and feeling like he was going to throw up, he reached across the table and picked up the book. He could hear his aunt in the other room answer the phone and say hello.

He opened the book and began turning the pages, which wasn't easy since his hands were shaking so hard. He had no idea where to look, but he had a good idea that information about Francis was in the book. He just had this feeling, plus the way his aunt kept looking at it after he had asked…

He started to scan the pages even quicker. Most of the addresses where written in French, and he suddenly felt fearful that the address of where Francis lived was going to be written in French, and it didn't help that he didn't know any.

Just when he thought he was going to drop the book being how nervous he was, he flipped to a page and a piece of paper fell out. He leaned over and snatched it up.

Bingo.

It was a small post-it note with the words scribbled on top: "Francis foster home." And underneath it was the home number and mailing address. Matthew pulled out a permanent marker, and began writing the information on the underside of his arm as small and quickly as possible. He couldn't possible believe that it had been this easy. There had to be a catch. Just when he finished the number, threw the note back inside the address book, and placed it on the table, trying to make it seem like it had been left untouched. He heard his aunt say goodbye to the person on the phone and walk in. By then, Matthew was standing up. He couldn't stay there any longer.

"Aunt Amelia, thank you so much for the water, but I have to run. I just remembered I have something to do, and I just wanted to stop by and…see how you were doing. I hope Francis is enjoying his vacation, and I hope you have a nice day."

Amelia stared at Matthew shocked. She didn't even bother correcting him about her name. If that wasn't what they called a brief visit, then she didn't know what was, "Uh, o-okay, Matthew. Well, I guess I'll see you again sometime? Stop by whenever you want…"

"Y-yeah, I will. Thank you again!" Matthew quickly walked out of the house. He saw Amelia follow him with her eyes as he got into the car, and he tried to pretend he didn't notice. As he pulled away, he tried his hardest to steady his breathing, but his heart felt like it was going to explode.

When he pulled back into the driveway at his house, he breathed a sigh of relief. He no longer felt like he was going to throw up, but the feeling of guilt was still there. Without wasting any of his time, he reached into the glove compartment where Alfred kept his cell phone and pulled it out. Pulling the folded up biology paper out of his pocket, he dialed in the phone number Gilbert had given him, and bit his lip while he waited for him to answer.

But whoever answered on the other end definitely _wasn't_ Gilbert.

"Hello?" a deep voice said. Matthew knew that people always sounded different over the phone, but not _that_ different. He wondered if it was Gilbert's father.

"Hi, um, is Gilbert there?"

There was a second of silence, then, "Who's calling?"

Oh boy. Matthew sighed and decided to just be truthful. "T-this is Matthew Williams…"

Another silence. Then, "One moment."

Matthew sat back in the car seat and stared out the window. He felt his hands become clammy with sweat. He opened the car door and kept it propped with his leg, feeling the breeze flow in. He just wanted to get this all over with. He heard someone pick up the phone on the other end.

"Shortie! Hey! Did you need help from the awesome I, or did you manage to get laid by yourself?" Gilbert's voice said on the other end. It sounded the same. Annoying.

"I have the address." Matthew said. He didn't want to say anything else to Gilbert that wasn't necessary.

Gilbert actually sounded genuinely surprised, "Wow, shortie! I didn't expect you to get it so soon! Have you been a good boy since I've seen you last?"

Matthew felt himself beginning to get angry, "Listen, if you're just going to—"

"Actually, never mind. You can just give me the address." Gilbert said cutting to the chase.

Reading off of his arm, he gave him the number and address and Gilbert wrote it all down.

"Wow, that's in a whole other district. That's across the city, isn't it?"

Matthew didn't bother to agree, instead he opened his mouth, "Well, now that I got that for you—"

"Ah, not yet shortie." Gilbert interrupted him and Matthew stopped. What could he possibly want now? "You see, you have to do one more thing for me."

"…what?" Matthew said more in disbelief than in question. Oh yeah, there was a catch alright.

"You're going to drive me out there."

Matthew bit his tongue. It was the only thing that kept him from screaming out loud.

**Oh yeah, you'd better believe this. After this chapter, it will initially be 95.5 percent all about Matthew and Gilbert.**

**Be afraid. Be very afraid.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I've received some comments/questions from several readers, and I'm going to answer them now (:**

**In Chapter 3, when Matthew fears that Alfred is going to watch Entertainment Tonight instead of the hockey game, let it be known that Alfred was merely teasing. In no ways would men ever choose a gossip show over a sports finale. Ever. But Alfred does love his ET, so you'd better watch out.**

**A lot of people have been wondering what Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio did. I can't say anything really, because I don't want to give it away, but you'll all find out soon (: **

**And now, to Chapter 5, which includes both Matthew and Gilbert's point of views. Hot damn. **

**Enjoy!**

"You look sick Mattie."

"What?" Matthew replied weakly as he looked up. He was slouched in a chair in the living room, his head resting in his hands.

"Like, puke your guts out sick." Alfred felt he had to clarify, much to Matthew's disgust. "Did you watch _Saw_ by yourself or something? Because I remember back when we snuck into the movie theater, and we convinced mom and dad we were going to see _Alvin and the Chipmunks_ instead…"

Matthew didn't really hear Alfred. He was stuck in his own personal hell. The events following last night had basically gone down like this.

"_Ah, not yet, shortie." Gilbert interrupted him and Matthew stopped. "You see, you have to do one more thing for me."_

"…_what?" Matthew said more in disbelief than in question._

"_You're going to drive me out there." _

_Matthew was speechless for a moment._

"_I-but, I—why?" He said, anger boiling inside of him, "I got you the address and phone number—"_

"_And you can do this one more thing for me. Look, it's not that big a deal. And right now, it's not like I can get out there myself. So either you can help me willingly, or I'll have to force you."_

_Matthew swallowed and was silent. The anger dimmed and turned into a fear._

"_So. Do we have a deal?"_

_Matthew was silent. He stared at his pants._

"_Pick me up at the bus station in front of the library at noon tomorrow." Then the line went dead._

"Hey! Seriously, are you okay?" Alfred staring at him cautiously. Matthew looked up.

"Huh?"

"You've been pretty zoned out for a while, dude. I think you're sick or something."

Matthew sighed and rubbed his eyes. He wished he were just sick. Or maybe he was. Both mentally and physically. He hadn't gotten that much sleep last night either.

"No…I'm just…tired," Matthew said vaguely, still rubbing his eyes. "I have to use the car today."

Alfred looked like he was going to argue, but when he saw the desperate look Matthew shot at him, he rephrased what he was going to say.

"Uh…okay. But just don't…throw up in it or anything."

Matthew sighed and sank back into the chair. There was a silence between the both of them, then Alfred placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"I'm going to Ivan's. He wanted me to tell you that practice was scheduled for six tonight."

Matthew nodded and watched as Alfred gave him another look before walking out of the room.

"I'll be back later." He called from the other room and Matthew mustered up a quiet, "Okay," In response. The back door slapped shut and he looked at the clock.

11:35

Absolute hell. That's all Matthew kept thinking in his head. More than anything, he wanted to turn the car around and drive home. He wouldn't mind diving under the covers of his bed and acting like none of this was really happening. He could stay in bed all day long and imagine that this was all just a bad dream. But it didn't help that when he turned his car onto the main road and saw the familiar figure with shocking white hair. The dream turned into a nightmare. He was glad he hadn't eaten any breakfast, or else he might have thrown up by now.

He pulled over to the side of the road and saw that Gilbert didn't even realize it was him in the car. Standing alone, Gilbert had a frown on his face, and looked irritated. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, despite the hot weather, and a pair of shorts that reached his knees. Matthew saw that he was still wearing the knee brace and seemed to be leaning more to his left side. For some reason, it made him remember back when he and Alfred were fourteen, they had been up in the woods in Canada. Alfred had been jumping across a stream, lost his footing, and then fell into a steep gorge. He had broken his leg, and for three months, even through the winter, he had to wear shorts so that they didn't get in the way of the cast.

Matthew smiled fondly at the memory. Alfred had been so bratty. Usually, he was always up and running around somewhere, but with the broken leg, he had been bedridden. Alfred's whining could only be subsided by giving him ice cream. Alfred had gained fifteen pounds by the time he had fully recovered.

When he looked up, he jumped when he saw Gilbert was staring at him from the bus stop, and was giving him a strange look. Matthew's smile quickly disappeared. For some reason, the look Gilbert was giving him made him feel more uncomfortable than he had ever felt. And he had a pretty good feeling it was just going to get worse.

But Gilbert smirked suddenly, and the look disappeared as if it had never existed. He walked toward the car, limping slightly, and opened the door, getting in without even asking for Matthew's permission.

"Wow, short stuff. You have a nice fucking car. Surprising. You don't seem like that kind of person that's into cars and stuff. More like flowers and friendship bracelets-"

"It's me and my brother's." Matthew interrupted him bitterly. It was true that he wasn't really into cars, but he was certain he knew a few more things about them than Gilbert would expect.

"Shortie, you're smart right? You know where this address is?" Gilbert asked him. The question took Matthew off guard.

"Uh…yeah?"

Gilbert looked at him with that same irritated look and Matthew felt like he was shrinking under the gaze. "What do you mean 'Uh…yeah?' So you _don't_ know where this is?"

"No, I just—"

"Whatever." Gilbert interrupted him before he could continue, and turned away to stare out the window. "Just drive."

Matthew took a deep breath and placed his hands on the steering wheel. So he was in hell, and the devil was sitting on the passenger side.

To get to their destination, Matthew had to get on the junction to the highway. Even though he didn't drive as much as Alfred, he liked the highway. He wasn't an aggressive driver or a speed demon, but he liked going fast on the wide stretch of what seemed like never ending asphalt. It helped him to relax as he drove along, and in a way it helped him to ignore Gilbert who had surprisingly been quiet for the last ten minutes, not that Matthew was complaining. As he switched on his turn single to move into the right lane, he looked through his rearview mirror to see if anyone was behind him, and his eyes peeked at the speedometer. He was pushing seventy now.

It was right then that Gilbert did something that shocked him completely. He had passed several cars, and there was no one in front of his car. Briefly, not even for two seconds, Matthew reached down with his one hand and turned on the radio.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Matthew had never been startled that badly. He thanked the lord that he had only swerved a little.

"What?" Matthew exclaimed, more than a little surprised. He kept his eyes on the road, but kept glancing at Gilbert, who was now looking like he was ready to kill, and at the same time, scared out of his mind. He had a bit of a crazed look in his eyes.

"Do you want to fucking crash or something? Are you really _that_ stupid?"

Matthew's eyes only grew wider. He was seriously scared. Gilbert was yelling at him so venomously, you would have thought he had murdered someone, not turn on the radio.

Gilbert stared at him and stopped as if he just realized what he had said. He no longer looked as furious, just more lost and confused. Turning away, he looked out the window again, cursing under his breath. Matthew's hands shook violently, but he forced himself to stay on the road. He had never seen or heard Gilbert angry. And what more, Gilbert looked afraid. He was too shocked to wonder why, and wordlessly he reached over without taking his eyes off the road and turned off the radio.

By the time Matthew reached the neighborhood, it was only 12:40. He slowed down as they reached the more suburbia part of the city and he turned on the road that the address had said.

"Stop the car here." Gilbert's voice cut through the tense silence like a knife. Wordlessly Matthew obeyed and pulled over. He noticed the kid looked about ready to die or something. He was a good driver, he would give him that much, but he was so stupid. He could have killed them both back there.

"Do you have a cell phone or something?" Gilbert said. He didn't care if he was being lazy, but he was not going to use the pay phone unless he had to. Once again, without a word, he watched as Matthew reached across him and pull the cell phone out of the glove compartment, then hand it to him. Gilbert took it and dialed the number on the paper he had scrawled the address on.

The phone rang twice, and the third time a familiar voice answered.

"Alfred?"

Gilbert grinned. He couldn't help it. He hadn't heard that voice in nearly two weeks, and already he missed the bastard.

"Nah, guess again."

"Gilbert?" Francis' voice sounded absolutely dumbfounded and shocked at the same time. "How did you—"

"I'll explain later. But right now, I'm sitting several houses down from you in a car."

He didn't have to explain. Without hesitating, Francis said, "I'll be right out." There was a click at the end of the line, and Gilbert closed the phone. He looked over at Matthew, who had his head lowered. He felt a little bad for him, but mostly annoyed. The kid was always so quiet, and extremely nervous.

He looked up and saw Francis walking toward Matthew's car.

"You going to come along and say 'hi' to your dear cousin?" Gilbert sneered. Matthew gave him a look that was pretty much like saying 'fuck you' in big bold letters.

"What do you think?"

But the kid could really snap back when he wanted to. He smirked and held his hands up as if he were surrendering.

"Fine then, be anti-social."

He watched as Matthew opened his mouth to say something, and then close it. Gilbert opened the car door and stepped out.

"Wait here for me then." And he closed the door. He didn't have to be concerned. Matthew would do what he said. He began making his way toward Francis, trying to walk as normally possible, but the pain that shot through his knee every time he tried to put weight on it made him curse inwardly. He finally gave in, and walked with the limp. He gave Francis a grin when he saw how shocked his friend looked. Without a word, he opened his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Holy shit…" Francis said, still stunned, "How did you—"

"Your sweet little cousin helped me." Gilbert said, pointing with his chin toward the car behind him. He didn't need to specify which cousin. Francis looked even more shocked as his eyes followed where Gilbert was pointing, and rested on the car.

"Matthew's here? That's his car isn't it?"

Gilbert felt a little annoyed that Francis was asking about his cousin. Since when was he curious about his cousin? He should be more curious about the fact that his friend had managed to find him instead.

"_Yes_, but right now we should be talking about other things."

Francis reluctantly looked away from the car and nodded silently in agreement.

"Come with me, I know somewhere we can talk without being seen."

The alleyway was a bit small. Small enough, in fact, that Gilbert could put his legs up, gingerly raising the right one slower than the left, and rest them on the other side of the wall without having to extend them that much. It was nice to relax into a different position. The car ride over had made him tense as hell. He figured to himself that he deserved a break from the goddamn brace, and pulled the Velcro back that held it in place. It fell off his knee and he threw it aside. When Francis had settled down next to him, he fixed Gilbert with a stare and said something that he was not expecting.

"Gilbert, what the hell are you doing here?"

Gilbert was a little taken aback. Why the hell wouldn't he be here? "What do you think, Francis? I wanted to see if you were alright. Is that so bad from a friend?"

Francis hesitated. "Well, no…"

"Then, what's the fucking problem?"

"You know what they'll do if they see any of us together." Francis said impatiently, "Are you stupid?"

That's what he had asked Matthew. Oh, the irony.

There was a moment of silence exchanged between them, and Francis pushed his hair out of his face, something he did when he was frustrated. He looked back at Gilbert.

"You rode in a _car_ here?" Francis asked as if he didn't quite believe what he was saying.

"Yeah?" Gilbert said annoyed. It was always the same after what had happened three months ago, "Is there something wrong with that?"

Francis backtracked slightly. "Well, no. But since the accident—"

"Since the accident nothing. I'm fine."

Francis decided not to push the subject any further.

"Did anything happen on the way over?"

Gilbert snorted, "Yeah. Matthew almost got us in a car crash."

Francis' eyebrows went up at that. Matthew was definitely the more rational of his two cousins. Alfred almost getting in a car crash, okay. But Matthew? He was a more careful driver than that.

"What? What happened?"

"The kid frickin' looked away from the road while we were on the highway. The _highway_. He was turning on the fucking radio."

Francis deflated slightly in disbelief. "Gilbert, that's not a crime."

"Well, if you had been in the car, you would have understood! He was nearly going a hundred!"

"He wasn't. Gilbert, you shouldn't have come over here if you're still scared of being in cars." Francis looked tired, older than he really was.

Gilbert flared up at this. "What the fuck? Who said I was fucking scared of cars? That's absolute bullshit."

Francis gave him a look and Gilbert didn't say anymore, but glared back.

After a tense silence, Francis continued, calmer this time. "Did you yell at him?"

"Well, I told him to keep his goddamn eyes on the road." Gilbert snapped back. What was up with Francis? He should be talking about _them_. "Have you seen Antonio?"

It was Francis' turn to look annoyed, frustrated. "Do you think I have? He goes to a completely different school, in a different county, probably in a different state."

Hearing the words being said out loud and not thought in his head finally brought them to the surface, and he felt the guilt overcome him. The silence from Francis needed no words. He knew that he was thinking the same thing.

"How did you find out where I was?" Francis asked after a moment. Gilbert shrugged.

"I don't know. I got Matthew to find me the address and phone number. He found it really fast too…what?" He stopped when he saw Francis staring at him with the same look of disbelief.

"You made him find out where I was, and then forced him to give you a ride?" Gilbert hadn't said any of that, but Francis knew it was true. Gilbert had a forceful nature, practically doing whatever it took to get what he wanted.

"Well, yeah…I _kind of_ had to figure out where you were." Gilbert replied like it was obvious. Francis looked exasperated.

"Couldn't you have gotten someone else to help you?"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, "Okay, whoa. Francis. First off, he's your cousin, I know I would have gotten connections easier that way, and he practically does everything I say and secondly, why the fuck are you so interested in him all of a sudden? You never were like this before."

This seemed to really get on Francis' nerves. "Alright, look Gilbert. He's my cousin, so I know a bit more about him than you do. The reason he always seems so nervous is because unlike you, he spent the last couple years living with his brother in a mansion practically three times the size of your house and hardly ever seeing his parents. He's basically had to raise himself, and at the same time, he's not used to being around other people that isn't his family. Do you even know what that's like? You have a mother, father, and a younger brother that's always present in your life."

Gilbert was seriously pissed off. He didn't want to hear someone else's sob story, and have it compared to his life. "Okay, seriously Francis? You make fun of him just as much as I do—"

"I may tease him, but at least I don't make him run around doing my chores for me."

"What are you suggesting-"

"I'm suggesting, Gilbert, is that he's not your pawn for you to order around. And neither is anyone else."

"Well, so? It's not like I'm hurting him—"

"Maybe if you'd actually listen to what you're saying right now, you'd see how ridiculous it sounds. Ever since we got sent away, I've been doing some thinking. Maybe if you actually realized that other people have _feelings_ for once, then Antonio wouldn't be gone, now would he?"

Gilbert eyes widened as he stared at Francis. He had nothing to say.

He couldn't say anything.

Francis exhaled loudly and pushed his hair away from his face again. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just…it's so sudden that you showed up. I wasn't expecting to see you until…just do me a favor, and thank Matthew or something. You do realize how much he's helping you, despite how much you've pushed him around. It's just everything's different here, and I'm a little nervous that they might catch us together. I don't want you getting in any more trouble. You can come see me again, but right now I'm just a little…confused."

Francis stood up, but Gilbert didn't meet his eyes. Instead, they were fixed on the knee brace that he threw aside. Threw aside like it was nothing. Francis placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I missed you and Antonio…come back and we'll try to find what school he's at together."

Gilbert heard Francis walk away, and he quietly said, "I fucking hate the school. They destroyed everything."

Francis stopped. He didn't turn around. "They may have helped destroy everything, but they didn't cause it." And he disappeared around the corner.

Matthew was leaning his forehead against the steering wheel, his hands resting over his head, when he heard someone knock on the car door. He jumped slightly and looked over confused, only to see it was Gilbert. Fumbling for the switch, he unlocked the doors. Gilbert got in the car and sat down, not saying a word. Matthew avoided eye contact with him and silently started the car.

They were once again on the highway when Gilbert broke the silence. He sounded like he was being forced to eat poison. "I…I freaked out at you earlier because a few months ago I had been driving home from school and I came to an intersection. I didn't see the guy in the other car run the stop sign. They made up some bullshit excuse that I didn't have my lights on or something, but all I do know is that he caused over a thousand dollars in damages, and it took the firefighters nearly an hour to get me out of my car. I haven't really...been in a car since…"

Matthew stole a glance over at him. He wasn't looking at Matthew, instead once again staring out the window. This was…insane. What had caused him to change suddenly? This was a complete 180 to what Gilbert was like. The Gilbert he knew was the one that forced him to find his cousin's address, and drive him there. He wasn't used to the sudden change. It made him slightly nervous again. But he swallowed it down and focused on the road again.

"I'm sorry…" Matthew quietly said. He didn't know what else to say, if anything at all.

Gilbert clenched his fist on his lap, but then relaxed it. "Why? It's not like you did anything…" Gilbert stopped and sighed, "Whatever. Just…don't be. I hate it when people say they're sorry for things they didn't do."

Matthew couldn't believe this. The Gilbert that had gotten out of his car earlier had been rude and extremely sarcastic, now he seemed just…vulnerable.

He couldn't help it, and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "So…did you talk to Francis?" He asked quietly.

Gilbert didn't reply, and Matthew assumed that he was ignoring him. Oh well, it wasn't like Gilbert was on the top of his list of people he liked to talk to. But after a while, he heard Gilbert reply, "What do you think? You saw me walk up to him."

Matthew suddenly felt exhausted. "Okay, whatever. Sorry I had to ask you a question," He snapped back, and turned onto the main road. "Do you just want me to drop you off at the library again?"

Gilbert continued his little staring contest with the window, but jerked his head as if he were nodding it yes. Matthew pulled into a parking space and let the car idle as he waited for Gilbert to get out. But Gilbert didn't move. Instead he sat in his seat, and turned to gaze intensely at his legs. Matthew was about to ask if he was okay, but then Gilbert opened his mouth and said something Matthew was sure he was imagining things.

"Thanks…" Gilbert said, not making eye contact. "Thanks for the ride…and stuff…" Then he opened the door, and walked away quickly, leaving Matthew to stare at him dumbfounded with his jaw hanging open.

Later that night, Matthew skated across the ice, all the thoughts from earlier driven out of his mind. The arena had long since emptied out, but he decided to stay after and shoot several more pucks into the net. The only sounds were his breathing, the slap of the stick against the puck, and the swish as it landed in the net. The song 'Straight to Video' by Mindless Self Indulgence blared over the loudspeakers, so he assumed that there were still some people left in the building. He didn't mind. He could stay there all night if he could. Practice lately seemed like the one place he could actually breathe and think normally. Using all his might, he shot the last puck in the line into the net with satisfying speed.

Just then the music was turned off and Matthew looked up. One of the janitors was standing in the doorway, and Matthew skated over to him.

"Hey Matt," The janitor said, "We'll be locking up in twenty minutes, it's time for you to get going."

Matthew took off his helmet, relishing the rush of cold air on his head which was damp with sweat. "Alright Tony, thank you."

Tony smiled and turned back to cleaning. He liked the kid, and let him get away with staying late after practices, even though technically only he and his colleagues were supposed to be the only ones still inside.

Matthew walked into the locker room and took off his skates. He placed them aside as he changed into his normal clothing. The silence aside from the steady run of the fountain at the entrance made him feel relaxed. Sighing contently and pulled his shirt over his head. Tomorrow was Sunday, he could finally sleep in. Taking his sports bag, he hung it over his shoulder and walked out of the building. It was nearly ten at night, and there were only five cars left in the parking lot, aside from his. Opening the trunk, he dropped the stuff inside, and closed it. He got into the car and was about to turn it on when something caught his eye. Lying on the passenger side of the floor was…Matthew leaned over and picked it up.

It was Gilbert's knee brace.

**Ohhh…wut r u gunna du nao mathu?1?1! O:**

**Maaaaaaan, things got fuuuggly.**

**Thank you readers and reviewers! (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow! I had such a busy weekend! ._.**

**I saw Toy Story 3 with my friend…I was four when the first movie came out…memories!**

**It was also my first movie that I ever saw in 3D…um…it hurts my head.**

**GREAT GAWD. I have no way to express my happiness that you've all been reading my story and liking it. You guys are like…caramel candy. Yeah. I like caramel candy. You're all my caramel candy.**

**I love you, my little caramel candies.**

**Enjoy!**

"Mattie. Oh my God. We only have six days of school left." Alfred gasped out during breakfast on Monday morning.

"Wait…no we don't. We only have four, don't we?"

"No, the _seniors_ only have four, remember? They get out of school before us so that they can practice for their graduation ceremony and whatever…lucky bastards."

Matthew grinned. "Just wait. When we're seniors, you'll be looking back and wishing that you hadn't gone through school so fast."

Alfred scoffed. "Ha! That'll be the day!"

Matthew stood up and placed his dishes in the dishwasher. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you," Alfred's voice came from the other room, "Mom came home last night while you were sleeping

Matthew's eyes widened, and he raised his head so fast, he hit it off the edge of a cupboard. "What—_Ow!_ W-when?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"Uh…I don't really remember. It was around eleven or something. She came into my room and told me to go to bed since it was a school night. She asked where you were, and I told her you were sleeping."

"Well, wait. Is she even still here?" Matthew asked trying his best not to sound frustrated. Why, of all the nights, did he have to fall asleep early on that one?

"I don't know, check her bedroom." Matthew was halfway out of the kitchen by the time Alfred suggested it. Their parent's bedroom was on the first floor, while both Matthew and his brother's were on the second. Walking down the hallway, he took a deep breath and softly knocked on the door. At first, he didn't hear anything, and was about to turn away when a very tired, muffled voice answer.

"Yes?"

Matthew turned back to the door. His tensed shoulders relaxed. He could recognize that voice anywhere. "Mom? May I come in?"

There was a pause, the sound of bed sheets being pushed aside, and then, "Sure honey. Come in."

Matthew opened the door and looked in. His mother was sitting up on the bed, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was pulled up on the top of her head, and several strands hung loosely around her face. Matthew smiled slightly.

"Matthew. Come here darling."

Matthew complied and walked over to the bed. Her mom moved over slightly and he sat down on the edge of the bed. He ignored the empty space that was supposed to occupy his dad.

"Are you off today?" Matthew asked softly, hopefully. His mother pushed some hair out of her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm working a flex shift today, and they don't need me until around twelve, so I decided to sleep in."

Matthew felt a little guilty that he woke her up. "I'm sorry…"

His mother reached forward and gently took his hand in hers. Even when he was young, she always had the softest hands he had ever felt.

"Matthew, don't be. I'm glad to see you. How's school been?"

Matthew shrugged. "It's okay…really boring…we don't do anything since it's almost over."

"How many more days do you have left, again?"

"Six. Next Monday is our last day, unless you're a senior."

She nodded, her curly blond hair bobbing slightly. She smiled at Matthew and squeezed his hand slightly.

"I'm glad. You've always tried your hardest at everything."

Matthew smiled back. He wondered if now would be an appropriate time to tell her. Ask her, try to bargain with her to cut down on her time with work so that she could be home with them more often. He figured that then was going to be better than never, since this was the first time he had seen her in days. He opened his mouth. "Hey, mom-"

"Matt, we have to go! We're going to be late!" Alfred's voice called from the kitchen.

Matthew mentally cursed and looked away from his mom. She gently squeezed his hand again.

"Go to school, darling. I'll put something in the fridge for you and Alfred to make for dinner when you come home, okay?"

Matthew nodded. "Okay mom." He stood up, and she snuggled back into the sheets.

"I love you, darling."

"Love you too, mom."

And he walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He felt a whole well of frustration build up inside himself. He could never get himself to tell his parents what he thought. Something always seemed to interrupt him. This time the interruption had been in the form of his twin brother, Alfred.

By the time the brothers arrived at the school, there was a huge line coming out from the school.

"What the hell?" whined Alfred and Matthew had to agree. When they weren't letting any kids inside the school, it was most likely because they had pulled aside a student and were searching them, or something similar to that.

"Why do they have to be so strict? I don't look suspicious or anything, _do I_?" Alfred inquired, and Matthew shrugged.

"Well, it's just…the school's policy…"

Alfred groaned. "I don't give a shit…school's almost over, they should let up a little."

"Yeah, that would be better…" Matthew's voice trailed off as he peeked over the heads of the people in front of him, and saw just ahead, that familiar head of white hair. He was standing with a muscular guy that was slightly taller than him, wore a stoic expression, and had blonde hair. Matthew had seen the guy several times before in school, but couldn't place the face with a name. He looked like he was a senior…

"What is it?" Alfred asked curiously as he watched Matthew stare intently ahead.

"There's something I have to return…I'll be right back." Alfred raised his eyebrow, but shrugged. Matthew took a deep breath and walked forward as he pulled the knee brace out of his backpack. When he got up to him, he saw that Gilbert didn't even notice he was there. Instead, it the blond guy who noticed him. To say that Matthew was _slightly_ intimidated was an understatement. The guy had _huge_ arms. Of course, Matthew had seen some pretty big guys before. Like on his hockey team, there was Ivan, who was over six feet. But, my God. Matthew had no doubt that the guy could probably pick him up with one arm and chuck him a good 20 meters. The guy stared at him with a questioning frown, and Matthew weakly raised a finger and pointed to Gilbert. The guy got the message and nudged Gilbert with his elbow.

"What?" Gilbert asked then stopped when his eyes were fixed on Matthew. His mouth broke into a grin. "Shortie! Hey! Did you miss me?"

Matthew sighed. Already, this early in the morning? And what was up with the nickname? It wasn't like he was short. Sure, Gilbert, who was taller than him, but he was an exception. He held out the knee brace to Gilbert. He stopped, his eyes widening.

"Where did you…?"

"You left it in my car on Saturday. I found it under the seat."

The blond looked from Gilbert to Matthew, then Gilbert again. But Gilbert ignored him as he reached forward and took the knee brace, still staring at it with an odd look on his face.

"Why didn't you just throw it out?" Gilbert said, sounding like he was trying to ask it as casually as he could.

Matthew raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Why would I? Don't you need it?"

Gilbert glanced down at his leg, which wore no brace, and nodded his head. He then looked up at Matthew and fixed him with the same odd expression he had given Matthew when he had pulled into the library. Matthew suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable again and looked away.

"But yeah, um…yeah." And he turned and walked away, just catching as the other guy asked Gilbert in a deep voice who that was. When he returned to where Alfred was standing, he saw that Arthur was now standing with them, his hair sticking up rather haphazardly, and an irritated expression on his face. He turned away from Alfred and looked at Matthew, his expression turning softer. "Hey Matthew," He greeted in his British accent.

"Hey Arthur." Matthew replied back and smiled slightly. He heard Alfred huff.

"Iggy, why didn't you say hi to me? I thought we were friends…"

Arthur turned slowly and looked at him. "We're not going to be bloody friends if you're always like this in the morning."

Alfred snickered. "Bloody. I love that! Do you say other things like git? And daft?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes. Such as, Alfred, you are so daft, you bloody git."

Matthew gasped, as if he were amazed. "So poetic."

"Okay, don't you get into this, Mattie," Alfred snapped. Matthew grinned. He watched Arthur reached into his back pocket and pull out a cigarette, turning it between his fingers. Matthew wondered if it was a nervous habit.

"Why do they call them fags?" Alfred asked, watching him turn the cigarette over and over. He was most likely talking about Arthur's home country.

"Because that's what they're called…" Arthur replied rather bluntly.

"But if they call them fags, then why do you sometimes call them cigarettes?" Alfred asked.

"Wha—why wouldn't I?" Arthur asked annoyed.

Alfred shrugged. "Well, wouldn't that be against…your culture or something?"

Arthur growled and threw the cigarette into the trash can just as they passed the 'No drugs or alcohol! You are entering a school zone!' sign. He missed the winning smirk Alfred wore on his face, which changed back to the curious childish expression he wore when he asked Arthur questions. Matthew knew this was all just an act. Alfred was smart, probably even smarter than him. He had never liked it that Arthur smoked, and was always trying to find ways to stop him before he could light one up. And today's plan had been to stall Arthur just until they got to the 'no drugs' sign. Matthew had never tried to figure out their friendship.

Finally, the line started moving faster, and Matthew, Arthur, and Alfred each got to their individual classes. The day went on basically like the other ones, going through classes with nothing to do but sit around and be bored. It wasn't until after school that the real party began.

Matthew was staying after again, putting away the last of the photo developing chemicals. Katyusha had apologized like crazy when she found out she couldn't stay after to help him, but Matthew assured her it was okay. It was nice to just be alone where it was quiet. He placed one of the two jugs on the ground, pulled out the storage room keys, and unlocked the door. He slid open the door, closed it behind him, and walked in toward the back. Rows and rows of school equipment of every kind filled the room. From sports uniforms, to textbooks, and located near the back, the photo equipment. He heard something that sounded like a click and turned around. The door was open slightly. He stared at it a moment, then shrugged. The teacher told them to make sure they closed the door the whole way every time they walked in, but sometimes the latch wouldn't secure, and it would slide back open. Matthew assumed this was one of those times, and adjusted his grip on the jugs as he continued to walk to the back. Reaching the aisle for the photography equipment, he placed the first jug on the shelf, and then picked up the second one…

"What are you doing?"

Matthew yelled out in surprise and the jug flew out of his hands. He watched in dismay as the cap flew off, and the orange colored liquid began spilling out onto the floor.

"Gilbert? What the hell?" He exclaimed, trying to keep his heart from exploding. That was as close as he wanted to come to a heart attack. Gilbert was standing about five feet away from him, regarding the liquid on the ground with his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"This stuff smells like shit."

"That's great to know." Matthew replied irritated and picked up the jug, twisting the cap on as quickly as possible. "What are you doing in here? You're not allowed—_shit_." Matthew cursed as some of the liquid got on his hands and caused them to burn. He put the jug on the shelf and began walking to get some paper towels. At this point, he didn't even bother to wonder why Gilbert was here, and why he was following him now. He picked up a roll of paper towels that was placed on a shelf nearby and started wiping it off his hands.

"Does that stuff burn?"

Matthew rolled his eyes as he discarded a used paper towel. "No, it feels amazing. Like getting a hand massage."

"So, is something going to happen like it's going to eat away at your skin until it reaches the bone?"

"It's not _that_ acidic. They wouldn't allow it in the school if it was." Matthew was making an effort to walk ahead of him, but Gilbert was actually a pretty fast walker. They reached the spill, and Gilbert's nose wrinkled again. Matthew wasn't bothered by the smell. He was used to it.

"No, seriously, what the hell is that stuff?" Gilbert asked and watched as Matthew threw some towels down to clean up the mess.

Matthew sighed. "It's called Stop bath. You use it when you're developing pictures. It stops the photo from overdeveloping." He placed the soaked, crumbled up towels in a pile, and tore off a few more. He looked up and saw Gilbert was watching him. This was _really_ making him uncomfortable. He noticed that Gilbert was wearing the brace on his knee again. He couldn't help himself. Lowering his head, he acted like he was concentrating on cleaning up all of the mess. "Why do you have to wear a knee brace, anyway?"

Out of his peripheral version, he watched Gilbert look down at his own knee, then back up. "It's called a hyperextension."

Matthew raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. "What?"

"I overused my knee, and eventually pulled it. It didn't really help that I fucked it all up by falling on it too."

Matthew winced slightly, and went back to cleaning up the mess. There was a moment of silence between them, and he picked up the paper towels and threw them in the nearest trash can. Gilbert was, of course, next to him the whole time. Matthew picked the keys up from where he placed them on the shelf and walked to the door. He let Gilbert out before pulling the door shut and locking it.

"Aren't only teachers allowed in there or something?" Gilbert asked as Matthew pulled the key out.

"I could ask you the same thing." Matthew snapped and held up the keys. "I have permission because I was helping a teacher put stuff away."

"Well, aren't you just an overachiever." Matthew turned away and rolled his eyes, silently mimicking Gilbert. As he walked back to the classroom, he noticed Gilbert was still walking next to him.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Matthew decided to just ask. It was starting to weird him out now that Gilbert wasn't leaving him alone.

Gilbert pointed down the hallway toward the nurse's office. "I'm supposed to stay after and get help from the Physical Trainer on my knee, but I don't want to go through that bullshit."

Matthew decided not to mention that would probably help him heal faster. Gilbert asked the next question.

"Isn't Alfred Jones your brother or something?"

This made Matthew look up. "Yeah? What about him?"

Gilbert shrugged. "Then why do you and him have different last names? Are your parents divorced?"

Matthew could understand why he asked that. It wasn't uncommon for people to think that when they found that Matthew's last name was Williams, and Alfred's was Jones.

"No, they're together. We just have last names. Alfred has my father's last name, and I have my mom's."

"That's weird."

"Yeah, well, they wanted it that way."

"Why?"

"How should I know?" Matthew was starting to get a little irked. He always did when someone wanted to talk about his parents. "They just did."

Gilbert didn't say anything else, and Matthew was thankful. Apparently he could get a hint. Then Matthew decided that since Gilbert had asked him a question, he should be allowed to ask him one back. "Who was that guy you were with this morning?"

Gilbert was reading a flyer that was hanging on the wall. Something about turning in all school supplies before summer. He glanced at Matthew out of the corner of his eye, then back to the paper.

"Why, are you jealous?"

Matthew felt as if his face had caught on fire. "What! No! I was—jus—no!"

Gilbert smirked and Matthew tried not to hit him. "That was my brother."

Matthew's eyes widened and he just stared.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the reaction I get every time." Gilbert mused as he watched Matthew.

"Brother? That was your brother? You have a brother?" Matthew couldn't quite understand why that shocked him so much. "But…you two don't even…"

"Look alike? Yeah, that's because I'm adopted."

_That_ made Matthew's jaw drop, if anything. He didn't know if he felt bad for Gilbert or not. "Seriously?"

Gilbert's face, once serious, now turned back into a smirk. "No, I'm kidding. Who the hell would put me up for adoption, anyway? I was one damn cute baby."

"Oh." Matthew no longer felt sorry for him. "No one's ever going to believe you if you always act like that."

"Yeah…" Gilbert said and stared at his hand for a moment, only half listening. He turned and began walking down the hallway, but this time, Matthew was the one that followed him. "Basically no one believes we're brothers because I was born albino, and little Luddy was born looking like a German. We're not that similar personality wise either…"

"Luddy?" Matthew asked. That didn't sound like the name you gave to someone. Maybe a dog. And putting the prefix _little_ to describe him was overdoing it a bit.

"Ludwig." Gilbert said, and Matthew stopped for a moment. Something about the name made him remember…

He was thinking back on his geometry class. Feliciano had said something about a guy named Ludwig…_"Oh! I got a really, really good grade! I have to thank Ludwig for that! He's so smart! He's in Functions, Statistics and Trigonometry, did you know? That's very, very smart for a junior…"_

Matthew shook his head. That didn't fit. At all. Feliciano was such a small guy, and Ludwig, from what Matthew had witnessed first hand, was a tank. Maybe there was another guy named Ludwig at the school. It was possible with the size.

"Wow, just…wow." That was all Matthew could bring himself to say. That was certainly something you didn't hear everyday.

Gilbert shrugged. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to get a watch." Matthew said, but he reached into his bag anyway.

"Oh, ouch. That hurt."

Matthew ignored him. "It's four-thirty."

Gilbert did something like a fist pump. "Yes! Luddy's coming to pick me up. Totally wasted an hour and a half. I can't believe he actually thinks I'm doing those gay ass exercises with the trainer."

Matthew decided to once again not comment on the fact that he should probably be doing the exercises if he ever wanted his knee to get better. Gilbert turned and began walking toward the door.

"Later, shortie."

Matthew raised an eyebrow, but answered back anyway. "Yeah, okay."

He watched Gilbert push open the door and walk out. Matthew was left to wonder what the hell had just happened. So Gilbert had just talked to him for a few minutes. Okay. But it was just the fact that he didn't make fun of him…well, not too much anyway. And that he was acting completely civilized, he also acted like Saturday had never happened, and that Gilbert actually didn't seem that bad…?

Matthew wondered if he had died and become reincarnated into some alternate universe. This was becoming too weird for him. From Gilbert's teasing, to him actually being serious, Matthew was beginning to wonder if he had different personalities. He tried to calm his nerves that were going into overdrive and he put on his backpack. He didn't like sudden changes, and Gilbert was changing faster than Matthew could keep up with. He made a joke to himself that Gilbert would probably walk in speaking Spanish tomorrow.

Of course, that didn't happen. But what did happen was Matthew stayed after school again to make up a test he had missed in biology the day he had skipped. And as he got down to the first floor, who would have guessed it, he saw Gilbert wandering the hallways, deliberately skipping his after school sessions with the trainer. He tried to sneak off, but Gilbert had spotted him and began talking to him.

One thing Matthew knew about Gilbert from the beginning was that he was very sarcastic, and Matthew felt it starting to really rub off on him. The conversations were the same as usual. Matthew trying to lose Gilbert some way or another in the school, and Gilbert would tease him about something, and of course, both were extremely sarcastic. But as the days were counting down swiftly, Matthew was still having a hard time comprehending just what was happening. When Gilbert stuck around now, he would tease Matthew, but it was lighter…not cruel. He didn't want to really believe what he thought was happening, but it was like he and Gilbert were becoming…

Friends.

Of course, he had to stop and think about this. How? How was this happening so suddenly? Just a few days ago, Gilbert would have laughed at him for doing such a girlish elective like photography, but now, Gilbert would instead ask him why the aperture was so important, or why you couldn't expose undeveloped film to the light. Just a few days ago, Gilbert had forced Matthew to drive him up to his cousin's place, and now he would ask Matthew if he could just look at something. It was too bizarre and unbelievable. Matthew was sure Gilbert was just using him once again for his own reasons, and with that thought in mind, he remained cautious. But nothing happened. Even on the last day that the seniors were in school. Gilbert pulled nothing. He didn't turn around and say that it was all a joke, and how stupid Matthew was for thinking that they were finally getting along. Matthew was sure it would happen eventually. He was so sure. And at the same time, he kept telling himself how selfish he was being. Thinking, that maybe if it weren't a prank at all, in some crazy way, then this might not be so bad after all.

It was during that last day, when Matthew and Gilbert were staying after once again, that Gilbert said something that almost confirmed everything Matthew was thinking. Matthew wanted to try it at least one more time, and even though he had no reason to stay after that day, he wandered the hallways and told Gilbert that he had been cleaning up his locker. They were sitting in the staircase were Matthew had skipped the one day. Matthew was looking through a book on photography ("Don't girls look at stuff like that?" Of course, Gilbert couldn't let it slide. He had to tease Matthew about _something_. "Oh, you're real funny." Matthew snapped back.) and he was sitting with his back against the wall on the floor. Gilbert was sitting a few steps up from him with his legs hanging over the railing, his knee brace hanging from his left hand loosely.

"You know…what did you, Antonio, and Francis do?" Matthew asked out of the blue. Their conversations where never anything important. It was basically just talking for the sake of talking. But this was probably the most important question he had asked Gilbert. He still had no clue what had happened, and it was killing him on the inside. Not that he would admit it.

"Hmm…?" Gilbert replied with a tired sounding hum. During their conversations, he had a habit of sounding like he was only half-listening.

"You know. Why are they both gone, and you're here. What did you all do?"

"I thought you knew what happened."

Matthew shook his head, and turned a page in the book. "No one knows what happened. Don't you know that?"

Gilbert's eyebrows furrowed and he looked a little angry.

"Of course they would try to keep it this huge secret…"

Matthew didn't really hear what he had said, "What?"

"Nothing." Gilbert said and shook his head. "So you still don't know? Wow. Well, I guess I'll have to tell you sometime, don't I?" He stood up, still favoring his left leg, and stretched his arms above his head. His shirt slid up his stomach a few inches to reveal a pale, but nicely defined abdominal region.

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Why can't you tell me now?"

Gilbert stopped stretching. "Hm. Um…because I'm a jerk…annnnd…because I don't feel like it."

"Yeah, no kidding." Matthew said. He was just a bit ticked off. He didn't like this whole 'everything's a secret' game Gilbert liked to play with him.

Gilbert put the knee brace back on and walked down the steps stepping over Matthew.

"Yeah…it gets pretty lonely when you're someone like me."

Matthew's looked up as Gilbert walked away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Gilbert turned back and gave him a look. "Whatever you want it to mean. Later." And he turned to walk out of the school.

"_It gets pretty lonely…"_ Was Gilbert actually lonely? Lonely, as in, even though he was super popular, he was lonely? Lonely?

But then again, it made sense, Matthew guessed. Two of his closest friends had been taken away. Matthew would have been lonely also if that had happened to him. But…

"…someone like me?" Matthew whispered the words out loud. It was such a…weird thing to say about yourself.

But, then again, Gilbert was just weird to begin with. Matthew had no idea what to do about him. Matthew closed the book and stood up. He decided not to worry about it too much. After all, this was the last time he was ever going to see Gilbert, and he was dead set and determined that no one was going to convince him that he was going to miss those last four days.

Matthew promised Katyusha he would go to the graduation ceremony. He didn't want to miss it for the World. She had helped him so much. It was the least he could do to repay her. As Matthew and Alfred went to go find seats in the auditorium, he wondered if it was a good thing that her last name began with a 'B'. That meant her name would be called early in the ceremony, but then he'd have to sit through the rest of it.

The graduating class was just over nine hundred students.

As Matthew sat and waited for the whole event to begin, he found himself wondering what Gilbert's last name was. He knew it started with a 'B' too, and it was German…

The speaker walked up to the podium, and as he began the speech, all the speaking quieted down to a whisper, then to nothing.

Occasionally, every five or six students that were called up, Matthew would hear a name that he recognized. But because of how many students there were, some of them he had never even seen. Alfred would sometimes point out a person and say that they were in his dance class, or that he saw them at a party once.

Eventually, after the first half hour, (half hour!) they got to Gilbert's name.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt."

The building erupted with screams and cheers. He watched as Gilbert stood up and walked to the stage. For some reason, he noticed that Gilbert's face wore a frown. He didn't look happy to be graduating at all. In fact, he looked absolutely furious. But he took his diploma from the man, and shook their hands. Well, if you could call it that. It was more like he clasped hands with them then let go as fast as possible. Some other people cheered as he walked back to his seat, then the auditorium was silent again.

Beilschmidt? Matthew wondered how it was spelt. It sounded very foreign.

Just minutes after, they got to Katyusha's name. When she was called, Matthew was surprised. Quite a few people (including himself) cheered, but the one that cheered the loudest was Eric, who even went as far as to yell, "I love you!" as she walked up on stage.

Four hours later, the ceremony was finally over. Alfred looked like he had been about ready to kill himself in the middle of it. He was only there because he thought it would be a good way to kill time. Matthew admitted that he himself probably would have liked to just leave after they had called Katyusha's name, but he wanted to congratulate her in person.

When he found her, he saw that she was crying as she hugged some of her other senior friends goodbye. He shyly walked up to her and told her congratulations. She enveloped him in a hug and kissed him twice on the cheeks and once on the forehead. Matthew's face turned dark red. She thanked him for coming, and said how much she would miss him. Matthew said he would miss her also, and thanked her for everything she had done for him. Then he had to tell her that he couldn't breathe because she was squeezing him so hard. She apologized in a flurry of words, and Matthew assured her it was fine, but at the same time, he didn't care that she was freaking out. It was something about her that he could remember always and never forget. When they said their final goodbyes, Matthew saw Eric walking up to her. She also flew at him with a hug, and a kiss on each cheek. _Well, at least he had gotten kissed by her_, Matthew thought.

He was walking away when he spotted Gilbert staring at him. He wasn't wearing the graduation hat, and frankly he just stood out in the crowd of people. He smirked at Matthew and walked over to him.

"That's probably the first time you ever got kissed by someone other than your parents, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally." Matthew replied. He was in on the diss game that Gilbert liked to play. "Sorry, but the gown just doesn't suit you. In fact, your whole face could do some remodeling."

"Wow, are you trying to make me cry? And besides, I'm so flattered. You came all the way to the ceremony to watch me graduate? I mean, I know I'm amazing, and I know my great looks are hypnotizing…"

Matthew smirked. "Are you kidding? Like I came to watch you. I'd rather die."

Gilbert smirked back and they stared at each other for a moment. Matthew knew that this was one of those moments where people would say they were having a conversation with their eyes. What Matthew saw in those eyes was what he saw in the eyes of his opponent on the other hockey team right before they would go against each other.

This was a challenge. Matthew was the challenge. And he was taking it.

"Gilbert!" Matthew saw a man wave to him. He had no doubt it was probably his dad. The man was basically like an older version of Ludwig, with just as much muscle, but a kinder face.

"Well, I have to go. My dad has to make me feel guilty about not being a little kid anymore and everything, and how I grew up too fast."

"Grew up? Nah, I think you kind of…" And Matthew made a motion with his hands to show that he was shrinking.

"Haha. Funny."

"It's the truth, I swear."

"Mhm." Gilbert turned away and raised his hand. "Later."

Matthew just watched as he walked away.

Whatever that was, Matthew decided it wasn't so bad after all.

**MY GOD.**

**Wow. I hate this computer. **

**Anyway…ugh, forget it. So this is the second chapter that I've posted late. Joy.**

**A little note about the Stop bath stuff: It's actually a true story…well, kinda. Basically that stuff really does smell like shit. It burns your nose. It's like vinegar but a million times worse. Not only does it smell extremely poisonous, but it didn't help that I spilled a bunch of it on my hands. My hands were dyed orange for the rest of the day, and they really burnt. **

**OHEMGEE. We're finally to the summer ._. Next chapter is going to be about the summertime. ASFL;DKNasfaAWEF;NASF;OIASFD'!11!1!1!one! **

**Thank you for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is absolutely ridiculous. I'm just saying.**

**NOTE: This chapter has been edited as of June 25th, 2010.**

**Enjoy!**

The students sat at their desks, eyes trained on the clock. One student swallowed nervously, another clenched his fist. The only sound is the ticking of a clock as it slowly counts down the last day of school. All is quiet. A pin could be dropped and it would sound like an explosion.

One student in the back shifts uncomfortably in her seat, and everyone turns to glare accusingly at her as the squeaking of the legs against the floor fills the room. The girl glances at them apologetically and looks down. One boy looks up at the clock, his eyes practically begging it to move faster. Instead, it seems to move even slower.

The teacher sits at the front of the room, eyeing them all accusingly, daring one student to step out of line. Every student in the room feels singled out as his eyes rest on each of them individually for a moment before moving onto the rest.

One girl wrings her hands restlessly, a boy wipes the sweat from his forehead. The seconds keep ticking, and students all begin giving each other wary glances.

_Shouldn't the bell have rung by now?_

_I was right, they're going to keep us here forever, and they won't let us leave._

_That teacher is looking at me weird! Did I do something wrong? Do I look suspicious?_

_They froze time. We're stuck in time. Oh God, I can't take this…_

_Did the second hand on the clock just stop moving? It stopped moving!_

_It's official. The bell should have rung hours ago. _

_My God, I'm going to die...I'm too young to die!_

Just as nearly half the class was about to start hyperventilating out loud, the chime of the mechanical bell rang through the hallways, the best noise they had ever heard. Instantly the hallways fill with screams and shouts of joy from more than a thousand kids exiting the school. But the students in this class remain in their seats, staring fearfully at the teacher. He calmly stares back, pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and then opens his latest casual read, _War and Peace._

"You are dismissed."

The kids all leap out of their seats, practically sprinting for the doorway, joining the hoard of students stampeding down the hallway. They made it.

School was over, making way for another glorious summer of no teachers, books, homework, or getting up early.

Matthew is one of the last students to stand up. He hadn't realized how badly his legs had been shaking as the teacher had gazed at them all like a hawk. Grabbing his bag, he makes his way for the door.

The last day had been a half day, leaving Matthew stuck in his fourth period class with his History teacher, also better known as one of the scariest humans to have ever walked the earth. Everyday of the school year, when the teacher was done with the class, they had to sit at their desks in absolute silence, and not move until he dismissed them. Even on their last day, the teacher had showed no mercy toward them. Not a student dared step out of line against the man that still believed in corporal punishment.

Matthew made the mistake of looking over at the teacher as he made his way out the door.

"Have a good summer, Matthew Williams."

Matthew's heart practically leapt out of his chest as the teacher offered what he believed was an attempt at a smile. Or whatever it was.

The teacher never smiled once. Ever.

Matthew had never been more scared in his life.

"Y-yeah, you too!" And he shot out of the door, thanking everything holy that the teacher only taught freshmen and sophomores.

The doors leading outside were like the gates of heaven. Light flowed in through, causing them to glow as if they are from another world.

Matthew was practically shoved out the doors as students around him frantically reached for the exits, as if they were running out of time. Eventually, he makes it outside, and moves around a group of ninth graders all celebrating in the doorway. Standing on top of the school's staircase, he stretches, bringing his hands high above his head, anticipating the warn sunlight. He watches as a junior runs toward a group of his friends and engulfs them in a hug. Another student is joyfully throwing away all of her school papers, relishing as she viciously tears each page out of her notebook, one at a time.

By the way the students were acting, someone would think they were just released from prison.

Well, not that it didn't feel like prison or anything…

"Mattie!" Matthew stumbles forward as a very heavy person tackles him, almost sending him cascading down the staircase.

"Alfred!" Matthew exclaims, trying to calm his nerves. "Seriously? You've got to be over five hundred pounds!"

Alfred beams at him, and Matthew grins back slightly. He can't help it, the mood's too addicting. He looks over to see Arthur walking up behind Alfred, wearing the same irritated look as always.

"Holy shit! School's over! YES! We're _free_!" Alfred then away from both of them, and lets out a cheer as he throws his fists into the air. Several students actually cheer back.

"Would you stop that, Alfred? The principal is staring at you." Arthur hissed at him, pointing toward Mrs. Bolden, who is standing a few feet away.

Alfred grins and turns toward her. "Have a _great_ summer, _Ms_. Bolden!"

Mrs. Bolden does something like a mix between a grimace and a fake smile. As Alfred turns away, her face drops to a frown, and she shakes her head in disapproval.

"Oh great, now you're on her list." Matthew whispered as if he's horrified. To be honest, he actually is a little. Rumors flew through the school that before Mrs. Bolden had become principal, the school was actually a pretty decent place. But when she was elected, the place had turned into a hell hole. She made punishments harsh if anyone dared to step out of line, and people that had been in her office and managed to make it out alive had claimed that she had a list of student's names that she would constantly keep an eye on to catch them if they dared suggest at the smallest hint of trouble.

Did Matthew believe all this? Yes, yes he did.

"Haha, list shmist. She can't resist me." Alfred claimed as they started making their way down the steps.

"Now see, this is why most idiots don't live past twenty." Arthur pointed out and Alfred punched him on the arm.

"Are you coming home with us, Arthur?" Matthew looked over at him and before Arthur could reply, Alfred threw his arms around Arthur's neck and hugged him.

"Yes, yes he is! He agreed because he wanted to hang out with me!" Alfred exclaimed.

Arthur just stared at him.

"Get the hell off me."

Alfred ignored Arthur's demand and turned to Matthew, his face serious. "Mattie, are you doing anything tomorrow?"

Matthew shrugged. "Um…sleeping in?"

"Do you think we should fill up the pool tomorrow?"

Matthew thought about it. In their backyard, they had an in-ground square pool. It was always drained before wintertime so that scum wouldn't grow on the sides, and also so that the water wouldn't freeze and mess up the pipes.

"Is there something going on tomorrow?"

"Umm…" Alfred acted like he was thinking for a moment, and Arthur made an attempt to get out of his grasp. "Well, you see, I _kind of_ want to hold a party tomorrow."

Matthew's jaw dropped. "Seriously? One day after school's over?"

"Well, you know, we have to start sooner or later." Alfred replied with a grin.

Matthew sighed. He wondered if their parents knew that Alfred held parties at their house practically every day during the summertime. They always did try to clean up the ending result the best they could. Matthew didn't like to hold parties at their place, it always made him nervous. He wondered if Alfred did it as an act of defiance.

"Fine, I'll help. What time is everyone going to start coming?"

"I told them about four. So that should give us, what? Five hours to get ready tomorrow?"

Matthew had a pretty good idea that it would be more like three hours, considering neither rarely got out of bed before noon on weekends.

"Okay, now that we have that figured out…" Alfred continued, suddenly becoming excited again, "What should we do now? Should we get a pizza? Damn! We should drive around and throw rocks at people's windows! I can totally punch someone in the face, and they can't give me a detention for it! School's out, this is so _fucking amazing! _I can do whatever the hell I want!" And Alfred jumped into the air pumping his fists. Matthew and Arthur continued to just stare at him.

"Alfred…" Matthew said nervously, "I think I should drive…"

One hour later, Matthew, Alfred and Arthur were all sitting in the living room, three boxes of pizza on the table in front of them. Matthew had thought he was joking when he said that he wanted to smash someone's windows with a few rocks, but when he saw the way his face fell when Arthur eventually convinced him that it would be smarter if they just got a pizza and watched a movie instead, Matthew wasn't so sure.

Alfred had agreed to Arthur's conditions as long as he was going to watch _The Children_ with him, joking that he should like it because it was filmed in his home country. Matthew was working on his third slice of pizza while Alfred was wolfing down his fifth. Arthur was indifferently still eating his first slice.

"Wow, I keep thinking there's going to be school tomorrow…" Matthew mused as he reached for another piece of pizza. Alfred and Arthur both agreed.

They had gotten to the part in the movie where the children had pushed a grown man down a hill on a sled, which caused him to get penetrated in the head with a pitchfork.

"Oh, if my kids did that to me, they would be _so_ grounded." Alfred huffed out, unaffected by the vast amounts of blood that spilled everywhere on screen.

"Alfred, knowing you, you'd be the first to go." Arthur grinned when Alfred looked offended and flipped him off.

Matthew laughed as he picked up one of the empty pizza boxes and took it to the kitchen with his dishes.

The phone in the kitchen lit up and began ringing. Matthew reached over and picked it up. The caller ID read 'Beilschimdt' and his eyes widened. No way. It couldn't possibly be…

He didn't want to answer it. He knew that this would only cause him trouble. How many times had things turned out fine when he got involved with Gilbert? No way was he answering it.

Wait, no. No, he did _not_ want to answer the phone! Matthew glared at his thumb as it pressed the answer button, then watched as his hand moved on its own, bringing the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" The words came out of his mouth, and his brain pleaded at it to stop, but the two were no longer connected.

"_Shortie!" _Gilbert's voice came joyously from the other end, right at the same moment several screams came from the living room. _"Wow, are you murdering someone? Is this a bad time?"_

"No, my brother's watching a movie with a friend. How did you find my number? I don't remember giving it to you, you creep."

"_Call me a creep all you want, but you see when there's only one number listed under the last name Jones-Williams in the phone book, it's pretty damn easy to find their number, you know what I'm saying?"_

Matthew thought back to Gilbert asking him if Alfred were his brother, despite their last names. The sneaky bastard.

"Wow, that's still pretty creepy."

"_Yeah, well say whatever you want. Anyway, I can't stay on long, I'm not even supposed to be on the phone, but I need your help with something."_

Matthew rolled his eyes. He had been through this before. "I'm sure."

"_No, seriously. No lie. Me, Antonio, and Francis did this every year on the last day of school, but because they're not here…"_

Matthew didn't need him to explain, "Is this going to get me in trouble?"

"_It depends. Do you want to get caught?"_

"If I say no, are you still going to make me come along?"

"_Hell yes I am."_ Gilbert voice stated triumphantly. The sound of a door opening on the other end caused Gilbert to suddenly speed up, _"Anyway, meet me in the school parking lot at six tomorrow, and bring some paint. You know the kind you put on the walls?"_

Matthew wondered if he had caught it all. Gilbert was speaking a million words per minute. "Ummm…a.m. or p.m.?"

Gilbert snorted, _"I don't even get up till noon. What do you think? Anyway, be there or I'll kill you. I can't do this alone. Later." _And the line went dead just as Matthew heard a voice on the end ask Gilbert who he was talking to.

Matthew slowly hung up the phone and stared at it. Paint? Why would they need paint?

And more importantly, what had he just gotten himself into?

**What they do in the next chapter is something I have always wanted to do.**

**And about the movie **_**The Children**_**, my friend convinced me to watch it. It's about this virus that makes little kids go crazy and kill their parents. All the way up until the last scene, I stayed with it. And then all these little kids came out of the bushes, and there were…hundreds.**

**My reaction was, "Oh look at the little ki…Eeeeeeeuuuughhhh…"**

**Please read and review! Thank you everyone for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I originally planned to post this chapter on Friday, but things came up ;o Sorry hombres.**

**I completely forgot that Gilbert wears a knee brace. WHOOPSIE DAISY.**

**Oh yeah, I edited Ch. 7 a little, so I'm a little bit more satisfied with it.**

**Behold, you are about to read some fluff between Gilbert and Matthew...er, later in the chapter xD  
**

**ENJOY! YAAAAHH**!

Matthew wiped the sweat off his neck and drank some water from the glass he had on the table on the patio. It was only eleven in the morning, but the sun already seemed to make his whole body feel like it was on fire.

When they had woken up, Alfred had wasted no time getting ready. He had changed into some shorts and a ragged shirt, Matthew doing the same. From past experiences, they both knew it got pretty dirty filling up the pool.

Matthew placed the glass back down on the table and looked around. Their backyard was fenced in by an eight foot tall fence. The stone patio gave away to a tiled floor as he walked up to the pool. It was a square, in-ground pool that went twelve feet deep. Next to the swimming pool, located in the grass was a small building, just big enough to hold about ten people that held a Jacuzzi, and in a small room connected to it, all the pool supplies.

Alfred opened the door from the building carrying a large jug of chlorine and a net.

"I'll start at this end." Matthew pointed toward the more shallow side of the pool and Alfred nodded. Leaning over, he picked up an edge of the cover and began pulling it back. A thin layer of scum fell off of the cover into the pool.

"…ugh…" Matthew grimaced as some of it landed on his arm. Alfred grabbed the other end of the cover and helped him pull it back some more.

As they kept pulling back the cover, it gradually began to get heavier. The sun continued to beat down on the back of Matthew's neck.

"It's really hot…" He murmured and stared wistfully at the pool. If only it was filled with water instead of little pieces of dried up scum. Alfred looked like he was thinking the same thing. Matthew turned to unravel two hoses that were attached to the tool shed. He threw one in the shallow end of the pool, and another in the deep end. Turning on the water, he watched with Alfred as the pool slowly began filling up with water.

"Here, start pouring the chlorine in." Alfred handed him the jug, and he began netting as much scum as he could from the pool. Matthew took the jug, unscrewed the cap, and began dumping it in.

Once Alfred finished with that section, they used all their might to roll up the rest of the cover off of the pool until it resembled something like a large blue plastic sleeping bag, and stuffed it into the tool shed. The pool was more than halfway full, and Alfred dumped in another jug of chlorine. Matthew took over with the net and caught as much scum that he could find.

"Is someone going to bring alcohol?" Matthew asked as he stared with his nose wrinkled slightly in disgust at the green algae in his net.

"Some seniors agreed to get a few kegs. They all pitched when I told them there was going to be a pool and Jacuzzi."

Matthew's eyes widened. "The _Jacuzzi_?" he groaned in disbelief. He knew Alfred wanted to go all out, but he was pretty sure that was over doing it, "Alfred, mom and dad will _kill_ us if they find out you're going to be using that thing."

"Yeah, well there are a few things that if they found out about they would more than kill me." Alfred said in a slightly irritated tone. Matthew was surprised, but decided that it was not the right time to question what he meant by that.

Matthew sighed, giving in. "Are you sure they won't be home to see all of this?"

Alfred's grin returned. "I double checked. They're both two states over or something. Super busy, can't be interrupted."

Every high school partygoer's dream. Parents that are never home, leaving the house to be completely destroyed.

Once the pool was filled up all the way, Alfred pulled the hoses out and wrapped them up, while Matthew returned the net to the tool shed. As he stepped in, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was two buckets of paint.

Matthew _really_ didn't want to know what Gilbert wanted to use the paint for. He sighed and placed the two buckets closer to the door so that he could grab them when he was getting ready to leave. His parents never did any painting around the house; it was just leftover from when they had hired some carpenter's to repaint their house.

"Wow. That only took us an hour." Alfred sighed and looked over as Matthew stepped out of the shed, "Are you going to party with us tonight?"

Matthew kept his eyes on the pool and shrugged. "I don't know. I think I have to go somewhere tonight." Matthew would come downstairs from time to time when Alfred would hold a party at their place, but because he was so shy, he preferred to stay upstairs away from the people. He wondered if he was what most people called anti-social. It was true he hardly ever wanted to hang out with friends outside of school, but it wasn't that he didn't want to socialize...it was just the thought of talking to other people that made him slightly nervous. He never really knew why.

"What, are you going to see your girlfriend?" Alfred teased and Matthew glared at him.

"No. Don't be stupid." Matthew crouched down and ran his fingers through the water. It was cold, and Matthew relaxed slightly. "Are you getting a job this summer?"

"Already did. I applied to be a lifeguard at the local pool. And who got hired? I did! Frickin' ten dollars an hour just to sit around and yell at people."

Matthew squinted up at Alfred as he stood in the sunlight. When they were younger, he remembered Alfred constantly claiming he wanted to be a hero when they grew up. Their parents thought it was cute, and even filmed him a few times saying it. But when Matthew heard Alfred doing stuff like this, he often wondered if Alfred would in fact grow up to be the first person that made being a hero a career. He grinned.

"Alfred, no offense, but I think a few people are going to die when you're on shift." There was something about Alfred. He would be the first person that would step in and save somebody, but then again, he could turn around and just throw the person in the pool again by accident.

"Oh, okay. Well at least I have a job."

"Well…you know…" Matthew trailed off, not knowing how to respond to that. It was true. Several times over the school year, he had tried to get a job, but he couldn't bring himself to ask for an application. And ironically, it was the lazier of the two who got one first. "I'm probably going to work at the café uptown…"

Even though he hadn't applied to get a job there, the owners were looking for people to hire since it had just opened, and Matthew liked the environment of a coffee shop. It was always so quiet and relaxing.

"Isn't that place really popular?" Alfred asked and Matthew shrugged.

"It's new and everything, but yeah. Basically because it's located in one of the busiest parts of the city, it's pretty popular."

"Hm…" Alfred shrugged and he began walking over to the Jacuzzi. "Well, then shouldn't you try to get hired right away before someone else takes an application before you?"

Alfred was too busy focusing on the Jacuzzi, he didn't see Matthew bite the corner of his lip and shift nervously.

"Yeah, I know…" Just the thought of it made Matthew slightly edgy. He didn't like the idea of walking up to strangers and asking them a question. It was absolutely…

He looked toward the house. "I'm really hungry…you want me to make you something before I go back to bed?"

"Uhh…" Alfred abandoned toying around with the Jacuzzi and straightened up. "Yeah, there's some pizza in the fridge, can you put that in the oven and warm it up?" He gave Matthew a strange look, "You're going back to bed?"

Matthew shrugged, "I'm still a little tired." This was kind of a lie. He had been fully awake when they had worked on the pool, it was the talk about the jobs that made him suddenly feel drained. He raised his hand and waved at Alfred as he began walking back to the house.

Once inside, he preheated the oven and placed the pizza in it so that it could warm up. He ate a slice of it cold. Despite them being twins, there were some strange differences between Alfred and him. Such as, Matthew liked eating cold pizza, and Alfred absolutely refused to.

Once he finished the slice, he trudged upstairs thinking about Alfred had said. It was true, if he just sat there and only thought about it, then someone would definitely get hired before him. His stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought. It was times like this that he wished he had his brother's outspoken personality. He fell onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He would take a nap then get up and shower. That way he'd have plenty of time to think of things before he had to leave to meet Gilbert. He slowly closed his eyes, and felt himself sinking deeper…

Matthew's eyes snapped open and he lifted his head a few inches off the pillow. At first he couldn't remember why he was in his bedroom, why it was so dark, and what had woken him up. At first, he wondered if he had been dreaming earlier, until…

"…the hell…?" He murmured out as he felt for a light switch. The whole house seemed to shake with tremors, and because he was still half asleep, he thought he was experiencing an earthquake, until he saw the time.

It was a quarter till five. And the object that was shaking the house was most likely—no it _was_—the bass from the stereo that Alfred had probably turned on. Even though he was not all that into parties, even Matthew thought it was cool he and Alfred had figured out how to switch on the loudspeakers and play the music inside the house and also project it outside to another pair of speakers that were located in the backyard. They had placed the speakers in the backyard, hiding them so that their parents wouldn't find them, and hooked them up to the ones that played inside the house. He peeked out his window and saw that already the patio was packed with people, some of them he had never seen before. Nearly each person was holding a plastic cup filled with beer. Inside the house, the lights had been dimmed slightly, and he could make out the movement of bodies gyrating against each other.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to figure out why all the noise hadn't woken him up earlier. He hadn't expected to just pass out like that; he didn't think he had been that tired. Then it was like a click in his brain and he remembered that he had to meet Gilbert at the school in an hour.

Sighing, he changed out of his clothing, and threw on a white t-shirt with a pair of old, washed-out jeans. He had wanted to take a shower, but the thought occurred to him that there were probably people already making out in their bathroom. This is why he was glad his door had a lock. Standing up, he put on his glasses and stretched his arms above his head, his shoulders popping.

Cautiously he opened the door and looked around. The hallways were vacant, and he quickly walked down the steps. He wanted to blend in with the crowd so no one noticed him as much.

When he reached the bottom step, he realized that the song that had woken him up was 'Yeah!' by Usher. The bass had been turned up so far, it was no wonder he thought they were having an earthquake, he could hardly hear the lyrics.

Several people looked at him when he finally made his way through the crowd. He agreed with them. He _totally_ looked like someone that would be at a party. He averted his eyes and ignored the stares. All the people there looked like they were models, and not the kind that walked the catwalk in New York City. No, the kind you would see in Abercrombie, and American Eagle advertisements. With girl's that had perfect hair and bodies for bikinis, and guys that had drool worthy abs. Glancing over, he saw Alfred lounging on the couch talking to several girls that all were all sitting around him. Okay, Matthew admitted that Alfred certainly had the looks, but sometimes it just annoyed him.

Sliding open the door, he squeezed past some people and made his way to the tool shed. And when he opened the door, he was suddenly thankful that he had placed the paint next to the door when he saw a couple in the back heavily groping each other and exchanging saliva. He's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he closed the door quickly. Grabbing the paint, he glanced both ways before he opened the gate and walked out. He felt like he was committing a crime in his own home.

Walking down the driveway, he saw that their car was blocked in by nearly five cars jammed into the driveway. He sighed. Well, he could use some fresh air anyway. Besides, he wasn't that sorry at all if he was going to be late for…whatever Gilbert had planned.

Even when he made it to the end of the block, he could still hear the music coming from their house. Matthew wondered if all their neighbors had sound proof walls.

Aside from changing his grip on the paint cans from time to time, he walked toward the school in silence. Some people that passed him in cars gave him looks, and he felt his face flush. Did he look weird? Was he out of place? He pushed back the thoughts and continued walking.

He lived about forty-five minutes away from the school on foot, and was dismayed to see that he was still early, despite his late start. He stopped at the entrance of the driveway and looked over the parking lot. All he saw where the two sections—the one where guests and teachers parked, and the other section where the seniors parked—which were vacant aside from one lone car. He was surprised at how quickly the place had emptied out. It was eerie.

But also, he saw that Gilbert wasn't in the parking lot. His heart leapt slightly. So, wait. Did Gilbert set him up? He couldn't see him anywhere, and he told Matthew to meet him in the parking lot. His eyes widened. Did Gilbert really just play a joke on him?

"Hey! Seriously, stop standing there like that, you look retarded."

Matthew whipped around and saw Gilbert leaning against a fence that was part of someone's backyard, just outside of school property with his arms crossed. Without hesitating, he walked over to Gilbert, and placed the cans of paint on the ground. Where they were standing, they were hidden by several trees, obscuring anyone's vision of seeing them.

"Okay first, what the hell is the paint for? And second, what the hell?"

Gilbert held up his hand and Matthew closed his mouth, but still gazed at him irritated.

"I'll explain in a minute, but first we have to wait for that guy to leave." Gilbert said and pointed toward the lone car in the lot. "And secondly, if you seriously want to get us in a shitload of trouble, then keep on swinging that paint around."

Matthew huffed, "Well, what was I supposed to do? I had to carry them! And why would it get me in trouble? Oh wait, I'm sorry, I'm talking to you—"

Gilbert's eyebrows went up. "Carry them? What, did you walk here?"

Matthew sighed, "Well, I couldn't really drive here (which was my plan) since our driveway was blocked because Alfred's holding a party."

Gilbert stared at him for a moment and smirked. Then he snorted. "Ha. Ha. Ha." He mocked out and teasingly pointed at Matthew. "Well, doesn't _that_ just suck?"

"Okay, shut up." Matthew blushed and lowered his eyes. Surprisingly, Gilbert actually did shut up. Matthew leaned back against one of the trees. "Wait, so…what is this?" He asked and looked at Gilbert's own cache, four cans of paint and two paintbrushes. "Are we repainting the school?" Matthew was just joking, but he actually hoped that wasn't the case. Gilbert smirked.

"Nope. That would take too long. And we only have…" He pulled a watch out of his pocket and looked at it, "one hour until they turn on the video cameras."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "They don't have the cameras on?"

"Ludwig actually figured that one out for me. When he was in tenth grade, he was mister hall monitor, and all the teachers loved him to death. And because the teachers loved him so much, they actually did things around him, like gossip about other teachers, and talk about how they turn off the video cameras for one hour everyday to save energy. From six until seven. Basically, they claimed that one hour wasn't so long out of a twenty-three hour day, and it wasn't like the students knew about this. But you see, I have a very loyal brother that tells me these things, and…" Gilbert watched as the final car pulled away from the parking lot, "A _lot_ can happen in one hour." And he grinned.

Matthew looked at the deserted parking lot, finding it weird that just a day ago, it was packed with cars.

"Shortie, stop zoning out and grab those paint cans." Gilbert brought him out of his thoughts, pointing to his pile. "If we run out of paint, we'll use yours. Grab a brush too."

Wordlessly, Matthew picked up the paint and a brush, and then followed Gilbert who was calmly walking out of their hiding spot. He didn't really know what to expect then. He assumed they would walk to the middle of the parking lot or something like that, but stopped in surprise when Gilbert stopped just a few feet from their hiding place, opened up the paint can and dipped his brush in, then began painting the parking lot green.

"Uh…wait, what're you doing…?" Matthew asked suddenly nervous. He voice screamed vandalism louder than ever.

"What does it look like? This year, we're going to Paint the School."

Matthew stared at him. "Yeah, that's what you're doing right now—"  
"It's an expression." Gilbert interrupted him, getting impatient. "Haven't you ever heard the news reports about the vandalism all around the city that happens once a year, always in a different place?"

Matthew remembered and his eyes widened. Why hadn't he connected the two before? No, this was a legend. Once a year for almost five years, somewhere in the city, some building or alleyway would be vandalized beyond belief. They had never caught the culprits, and it got harder for the authorities every time because they vandalized on a different day every year and in a different place.

"No…no _frickin'_ way…" Matthew said in shock as he stared at one of the culprits.

"Yes, frickin' way." Gilbert replied calmly, as if painting obscene swear words on the school parking lot were an everyday activity.

"But…how? I mean, why?" Matthew struggled to find the words.

Gilbert shrugged. "Francis and I were thirteen, and Antonio was twelve. We were joking around one day about this wall in an alleyway that was covered in graffiti. Francis claimed that he could paint way better than the graffiti on the wall, and we put him up to the challenge. We dared him to paint on the wall one night. We were all nervous at first. Francis started painting, Antonio and I kept a lookout. But then Francis started really getting into it, and it looked like fun, so I joined him. And then Antonio did too. No one walked past that alleyway that whole night, and we were never caught. It was a vandalized wall to begin with, so no one noticed the difference besides us. At first, we expected someone to come one day out of nowhere and arrest us or something, but it never happened. We were paranoid as hell. Months after, we started feeling really bold. If we could paint that wall and get away with it, why don't we do it again? We've never been caught. To really get into it, we wrote down several random places with a date underneath each one and threw them in a box so that we could draw them out, so that we wouldn't chicken out and pick some place easy. We'd then say, 'This year we're going to 'Paint the blank' and whatever place we drew, we'd have to paint it. And just so appropriately, this year, we picked the school…one day after the final day."

Matthew blinked and stared at Gilbert. He didn't want to admit it, but even though it was bad, really bad what he was doing, it was still kind of…

Cool.

"Of course, if you _ever_ tell anyone—" Gilbert began, his eyes boring into Matthew. Matthew held up his hands quickly.

"I-I won't. I promise."

Gilbert looked at him a moment, then turned away. "Open that can and start painting."

Matthew stood still for a moment and didn't move. "Wait…you want me…to paint?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Look, I didn't ask you to come along just so that you could watch me do it all by myself. This year it's just me, and I need at least one more person. Now help me."

Matthew didn't move for a moment. And Gilbert didn't look up this time, and kept calmly painting. "You're scared. At least try it."

It was more a demand than a suggestion, but Matthew shakily obeyed. He had _never_ done anything like this before. His hands shaking, he took the top off of the can and dropped it onto the ground. Blue paint swirled around slightly on the inside. Time seemed to slow down as he reached for his paintbrush and slowly dipped it in.

"What should I…write?" Matthew asked feebly, hoping to stall some more.

Gilbert shrugged. "Anything your little heart desires. So long as it isn't your name, or something stupid that get you caught."

Matthew nodded and turned back to the paint. He felt like he was going to throw up, but at the same time, he felt…excited.

_No turning back now_…and in one movement, he tore the brush from the can and made his first mark on the pavement.

Gilbert was right. At first, he glanced nervously around, expecting someone to jump out of nowhere and arrest them. But no one showed up. Gilbert's calm, unworried attitude, and the rhythm of the painting eventually calmed Matthew down, and he started to actually like it. It was like art class, but illegal. Illegal in a fun way. He felt adrenaline rushing through him as he continued to do the first illegal thing—that wasn't just borderline, but way over the limits—he had ever done in his life.

He really did get into it, and at some points he just randomly swiped his paintbrush across the ground, watching the blue marks it left in fascination.

"Hey shortie, watch this." Matthew looked up just in time to see Gilbert toss the rest of his green paint out, and it splattered onto an untouched part of the lot. Without even thinking, Matthew grinned and picked up his own bucket and tossed his paint also, the green and blue splattering everywhere and together. He jumped slightly when heard Gilbert laughing behind him and turned to glare at him, but stopped when he saw the smile on his face.

"There you go! Now you're getting into it!"

Matthew gave a small grin in return, and Gilbert took another can of paint, and ran off further into the parking lot. Matthew followed him, trying not to step in the paint, and began writing and drawing in red, his paint sometimes mixing in with Gilbert's purple. He put zebra stripes on the speed bumps, and made giant smiley faces.

But the fun couldn't last forever. After they finished off that part, Gilbert looked at him seriously.

"There's one more thing we have to do before we're done." He said as they walked back to retrieve the last two cans. At this point, Matthew didn't mind. He was having more fun than ever in his life.

"What's that?" He asked breathlessly. All the running around and painting was making him worn out. He was glad he had slept earlier.

"Well…you'll see." Gilbert said, and sounded like he was hesitating. They walked up to the wall of the school building and Gilbert took the lid off of the paint can. Orange. Dipping his paint brush in, he began writing on the wall. When he was done, he stepped back, and Matthew surveyed it with him. In huge capital letters, it read:

WHERE IS ANTONIO FERNANDEZ?

Matthew looked at him, and Gilbert rubbed the back of his neck. He looked slightly embarrassed. "It was something I read about…in a book that gave me the idea…"

Gilbert didn't say anything else, and moved off to a different wall, taking Matthew's unopened can of paint. In green, he wrote his next message:

WHERE IS FRANCIS BONNEFOY?

Matthew watched, intrigued, "But I thought you knew…"

"Even though I know where Francis is, no one else at the school except for the teachers know. These are questions everyone wants answers to…or at least I'd like to know…"

Gilbert trailed off and stared at the letters on the wall, and Matthew thought he looked sad. Suddenly filled with an odd sense of determination, Matthew picked up the paint can and began walking to his own wall.

"Hey, what are you doing…?" But Matthew ignored him, and began writing his own message, stretching his arms out as far possible to make the message huge.

"Where is…Gilbert Beilschmidt? Huh, you spelled my name right." Gilbert noted, but watched in silence as Matthew dropped his paint brush to the ground and stepped back too. They both stared at it for a while.

"…why?" Gilbert broke the silence and gave him a look of curiosity.

"Well, if you did just write Antonio and Francis' names without yours, wouldn't that look a little suspicious? Besides, where _are_ you? You're not the Gilbert I know." Matthew joked, referring to how the Gilbert he had known for so long was such a jerk, and now this person was someone that couldn't be Gilbert. This person seemed to have feelings, and a pretty nice personality. But then he realized that maybe that had been overdoing it a bit, when Gilbert's face suddenly turned a dark red.

"What?" He asked looking at him, looking clearly embarrassed. Matthew lowered his head.

"I, uh, I mean—"

"T-that's so stupid!" Gilbert stuttered out. He turned around, and began stomping away. Or at least what was supposed to be stomping, but just looked ridiculous with his limp. It looked so ridiculous in fact, that Matthew began giggling. And then the giggles turned into a full out laugh, and before Matthew knew it, he was clutching his stomach, and sitting on the ground, laughing harder than he ever had before. The whole night had just been crazy, it was like it wasn't even real.

He kept laughing for a while, and then eventually calmed down. Gilbert had stopped walking and turned to stare at him. Matthew stood up, wiping his eyes and walked over to pick up the paint can.

"You laugh like a girl." Was the only thing Gilbert said after a moment, and for some reason, it made Matthew begin laughing again. Gilbert gave an irritated sigh, "Okay, seriously? You want us to get caught?"

"Hey, I'm just and accomplice. You'd get in more trouble."

Gilbert smirked. "Oh really? Well, too bad. They need evidence that you helped me, and—" Before Matthew could stop him, Gilbert placed his whole hand in the bucket of paint it whipped it right at Matthew's shirt. Matthew gasped as some of it landed on his face and pants also.

"Oh, okay!" Matthew said and also took a handful of paint, but just to get back twice as hard, he threw some in Gilbert's hair too, "Just thought it could use some color." He mentioned with a sneer. The next couple minutes was them dodging each other's onslaughts, until eventually they made it back to their hiding place, wheezing and barely being able to stand from laughing so hard.

"Well, I guess it's too late to ask if that t-shirt was important." Matthew said once they were done. Gilbert only grinned.

"You think I came to this in new clothing? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Matthew shrugged, and Gilbert playfully rolled his eyes. They stood in a silence, aside from catching their breath, until eventually Gilbert asked, "Do you want a ride?"

Matthew looked up at him surprised. "You drove a car here?"

Gilbert snorted, "What is up with everyone askin—how else was I supposed to get here? Of course I drove."

Matthew was slightly confused, "But—"

"I can still drive, I just don't do it a whole lot after the accident." Gilbert shrugged.

Matthew followed after Gilbert to a car that was parked on the road. It was a white Ford Focus. Definitely not a car that Matthew imagined Gilbert driving.

"It's my moms." Gilbert explained, as if reading his mind. "I told them I went out 'grocery shopping' so that I could borrow it."

"Oh." Was all Matthew could bring himself to say. He was more concerned about the fact that they were both covered in paint, and the car looked pretty new.

Gilbert solved that problem just a moment later when he opened the trunk and pulled out a few towels, and a hoodie.

"Here." He tossed the hoodie at Matthew, and he caught it. "Just keep it, it's old."

Matthew took it with a flustered thanks and threw it on over his shirt. Gilbert then handed him a towel to wipe his hands off with, then placed one down on the seat.

Once they were both in the car, Gilbert started the engine. He had put on a black hoodie that had 'MAI University' written in big letters across the front. As he pulled away, Matthew looked out the window as they passed the school. They had thrown away the paint cans in a black garbage bag that Gilbert had in the trunk, and the only evidence left was the entire parking lot and some walls of the school exploding with paint. It was two minutes before seven.

The only conversation Gilbert and Matthew made at that point was the directions back to Matthew's place. Gilbert had a slightly tense look on his face, but drove with ease. Matthew was pretty sure he wasn't in a good conversation mood when he was behind the wheel. But it was when they came to an intersection that Matthew suddenly gasped.

"What?" Gilbert asked, looking at him confused.

"Pull over really fast." Matthew said, and Gilbert gave him an odd look. "I-I have to get something." Matthew thought he wasn't going to do it at first, but then he pulled aside into a parking space.

"I'll be right back." And before Gilbert could ask what he was doing, Matthew jogged across the road, and opened the doors to the café/coffee place. The bell attached to the door rang, announcing his entrance, and he was engulfed with the scent of coffee beans.

"Hello, may I help you?" The friendly voice of a male came at Matthew and he smiled nervously in return. He took a deep breath.

"H-hi, I'd like an application to work here. Uh, please."

He never thought he would have the courage to say those words. The boy smiled and handed him a paper, only glancing curiously for a moment at the small speckles of orange paint dotting Matthew's face. Matthew glanced at the name tag on his shirt and saw that it read, 'Tino Väinämöinen'.

"Here you go." The man said, and Matthew nodded.

"T-thank you…" And quickly he turned away, walking out of the coffee place and toward Gilbert's car who gave him a weird look. Matthew just shrugged in got into the car.

"Okay, you're lucky I didn't drive away. If you try that one more time, I _will_ ditch you."

Matthew ignored Gilbert and clutched the paper tightly in his lap. He didn't know what had suddenly made him get the courage to walk into that place and ask for an application, when he never could before…

"Hey, what is that, by the way?" Gilbert asked, breaking Matthew from his reverie.

He grinned. "I'm not telling someone that threatens to ditch me."

"Oh, okay. Fine then, be difficult like that."

Matthew mimicked Gilbert and was surprised when he heard him actually bark out a laugh.

"Wow, you're crazy." Gilbert said with a small grin on his face, and Matthew blushed slightly. "But that's pretty cool. You should keep that up."

* * *

"Mattie! Seriously! You do _not_ want to miss this shit! Wake the hell up!"

Matthew groaned and tried to hide under the covers. It was one in the afternoon, and Alfred, who was an amazing hangover recoveree, was shaking his shoulder roughly, trying to rouse him from his sleep. When that didn't work, Alfred yanked the sheets off.

"Alfred! WHAT?" Matthew wailed out, only to have a newspaper shoved in his face.

"Read." Was all Alfred said, and Matthew took the paper, letting his eyes slowly adjust to the light. The front page was an aerial picture of…

No way.

**Wow…that was long.**

**The book that Gilbert refers to is called 'After' by Francine Prose. A school system becomes corrupt, and students begin disappearing. At one point, a student begins painting 'Where is so and so' on the walls of the school. I just thought of it being something Gilbert would do out of the blue. But it's a freakin' creepy story. Like, I've never read a book that gave me the chills, and this one did. Seriously, go read it.  
**

**Oh, and my slow brain finally figured out how to put in little paragraph dividers, so hopefully you guys won't be as confused in the future with time skips, perspective change, etc. ._.; I am seriously trying to fix my story as much as I can so that the reading experience for you all can be so much easier!**

**So, I'm thinking of getting two female mice, but I haven't a clue of what to name them.****  
You think you guys can help me out? (:****  
I was thinking of calling one Diesel…but I'm weird like that XD  
So, suggest me some names? :3**

**Thank you all for reading! It means so much for me!**

**Please read and review!**

**Thank you!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! **

**Just a little note to my readers:  
**

**Okay, I didn't really think this was going to be such a big deal, and I hoped it really wouldn't, but uh…in Chapter two I believe…yes? No. Maybe…YES! Matthew mentions that milk comes in bags in Canada. Now, several very awesome Canadians (As they have informed me!) Have brought it up to me that were they live, milk doesn't come in bags. I would just like to let you all know now that I am very aware of this. Milk does come in jugs in Canada, just as America, but I would like to point out that in this story, the region that Matthew and his family (fictionally) lived in, milk came in bags. When he referred to milk coming in bags instead of jugs, he was simply pointing out only the place where he lived, not all of Canada. My family traveled up to Canada every year before I was born, and I have a few good friends that live where they buy milk that come in bags.**

**I don't wish for anyone to think I was trying to stereotype Canada for what it's not, since I have never been there myself. I just thought I would throw something in there for fun, and to keep the storyline interesting, but I'm sorry if I offended anyone.**

**Now, READ THIS CHAPTER.**

**Enjoy! **

"Where is it…" Matthew muttered under his breath as he opened another closet and checked its contents. Once again, no backpack. He growled and slammed the door shut.

"Alfred, where's my backpack?" Matthew stuck his head into the kitchen and watched Alfred as he cracked some eggs into the frying pan (Brunch?).

"Uhhh…" Alfred drawled out and poked at the sizzling yokes with a spatula. "I don't know."

Matthew rolled his eyes and stepped out of the kitchen. Yeah, real big help there. He looked behind the bookshelf in the living room, under the couch and chair, behind the loveseat. Nothing. It was just whenever he was going to give up, his foot kicked something that was under the dining room table.

He looked under and sighed in relief when he saw that it was indeed his backpack. He grabbed it and jogged back upstairs. Closing his bedroom door, he unzipped it and dumped everything inside out onto his bed. Sitting down cross legged, he began pushing aside folders and papers, eyes scanning for that small piece of ripped paper that he had shoved away, thinking he would never have to use it again. He found it lodged inside his assignment book and picked it up. Aside from being wrinkled, it was in rather good shape and he dialed the number into his phone. The voice that answered, he could recognize anywhere.

_"Hello?"_

"Gilbert." Matthew stated, his eyes narrowing.

_"Oh, shortie! Have you called to make arrangements to steal me away?"_

"Oh, you're funny. Tell me, Gilbert. I was looking at today's newspaper and saw a picture of the school, absolutely covered in the graffiti, with a full page article about it, right on the front page. Would you like to tell me why you forgot to mention that they're now charging a _two hundred fifty thousand_ dollar reward to anyone that can catch the little painting spree culprits?"

_"Oh, well you see, that's just a _minor_ detail—"_

"I don't see how you managed to graduate from high school, you're just ridiculous."

_"Actually, I like 'amazing on the eyes' much better."_

"Gilbert, can you please be serious?" Matthew practically yelled into the phone.

_"Ummm…that depends. You see, I have my days…"_

"Oh, okay. Wow, how can people even live with you? I can't stand you for five minutes."

_"Well, that's because you can't seem to embrace my awesome."_

"Embrace your aweso—what is up with you?"

_"Did you see Jersey Shore last night? Snooki has a nice ass…"_

"Are you even listening to me?"

_"Are you even listening to me? Those Guidettes are hot. Like, major sex dolls."_

"This is totally irrelevant to the conversation."

_"You're totally irrelevant to the conversation."_

"Now you're acting like a child."

_"By pointing out something totally irrelevant to the conversation, you are trying to catch me off guard, which proves that you are losing the argument."_

"Oh, okay. At least I don't have white hair."

_"Oh, is that supposed to burn? I don't think I felt it."_

"Yeah well, if I tried to use more clever insults, you probably wouldn't understand them."

_"Or maybe, you just suck at insults."_

"Or maybe, you should get a job or something."

_"What, do I seem like I don't have a job?"_

"Yes, actually. More like someone that would just drink beer all day."

_"Hm. Mostly true. But you see, I am more than meets the eye. Sure, I'm gorgeous, but I have so much more!"_

"Like a stupid ego?"

_"Not so harsh, it can hear you."_

"Wow. Why did I even call you in the first place?"

_"I don't know…something about Nicki Minaj, and my amazing body."_

"You are so full of it. Why aren't you even concerned? If they found out what you had done—"

_"We is the correct term. Remember second grade grammar lessons? We, us, they?"_

"Okay, if they found out what _we_ had done, you do realize," Matthew looked over at his door, covered the mouthpiece of his phone and hissed out the last words, "_we could be facing at least twenty years of prison and thirty-five thousand dollar bail each?"_

_"I know, I know. Isn't it great living your life?"_

"Gilbert, one day, I swear I'm going to find a way on how to murder you and get away with it."

_"Is that a threat?"_

"No, that's a promise."

_"Well now, isn't someone just grumpy?"_

"At this point, I've just realized I'm wasting my life away talking to you."

_"Again, with the dumb insults. This is clearly a fact that has been proven wrong. Talking to me does not waste life, but instead adds onto it. See, I'm like Buddha, only better."_

Matthew didn't know why, but just as Gilbert said that, and image of a very fat Gilbert ran through his mind. Very meaty arms and legs, with a stomach so big he wouldn't be able to see his own feet. Matthew wondered what made him think of this. He assumed it was the mention of Buddha, and looking at an advertisement of Dunkin' Doughnuts in the newspaper. Just…a fat Gilbert, waddling around. And like a turtle, if he fell onto his back, he wouldn't be able to get up. His arms and legs would flail in the air until just seconds later, he would fall asleep in exhaustion. He started laughing.

"You…wow…you, I wish you were fat." Matthew gasped out between laughs.

_"I…huh? What are you even talking about?"_ Gilbert was now the one voicing his disbelief.

"I don't know…I really don't." Matthew said and he bit his tongue for a moment to keep himself from laughing, "It's just, you were talking about Buddha, and I thought about you being fat, and then I imagined you being like a turtle—"

_"Uh…seriously, what the fuck are you talking about?"_

"You being fat."

_"Annnd…what were we talking about before?"_

"I don't know…Nicki Min-something, murder, Guidette's, right?" Matthew replied with a grin.

There was silence for a moment, and Matthew wondered if Gilbert had hung up the phone. He surprised himself when he felt his heart sink slightly at the thought. But then he heard Gilbert's voice again.

_"Actually, I want to talk to you about something. How about you meet me up at Diesel's?"_

"What, that fast food place?" Matthew hated the place, Alfred absolutely worshipped every greasy square inch of it. Go figure.

_"Yes, the best place to meet up. It's halfway between my house and yours, plus I'm hungry. I'm home alone, too damn lazy to make something, and I haven't eaten anything since last night."_

Matthew sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

_"You'll see."_

"Is this going to get me in trouble?" Matthew had to ask. He mused to himself that Gilbert should walk around with a 'Caution' sign, and to make sure it was listed in at least ten different languages.

Gilbert laughed slightly. _"Do you want to get in trouble?"_

"Um, no, I'll pass."

_"Then no, you won't get in trouble. Just meet me there in twenty minutes. I have to change out of my pajamas…"_ When Gilbert said that, Matthew noticed it was two in the afternoon, and he also was still in his pajamas.

"Why is it that lately you just assume that I'm going to show up, just because you tell me to?"

_"Because you are?"_ Gilbert said, sounding absolutely serious.

"You…whatever. Fine. I'll meet you there."

_"Yup. Twenty minutes! Later!"_

Matthew gave a huffy 'bye' in response and hung up the phone.

* * *

Alfred had to use the car, so Matthew decided to just take the bus. He wasn't really in a driving mood anyway.

When he arrived at the fast food joint, he walked in and scanned the place for Gilbert. He didn't see him anywhere and sat down in one of the blue and red booth seats next to the window. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long. But what he didn't really expect was for Gilbert to pull up in a gray Yukon XL. Comparing the size difference the little car that Gilbert was driving the other night, and then to this thing was a bit surprising.

He saw Gilbert jump out of the car and pocket the keys as he walked into the joint, holding a plastic bag with something in it. Gilbert did the same thing Matthew had, and scanned the place until his eyes rested on him, and he grinned. Matthew wanted to scowl at him, but his mouth decided to smile timidly instead, and once again, his hand worked on its own and waved briefly at Gilbert. His body was betraying him.

Gilbert held up a finger, showing that he would be just a minute and stood at the counter. Matthew sighed and tapped his fingers against the table as he waited. When Gilbert finally ordered his food, he set a tray down in front of them, and Matthew stared at the mountain of food on top of it.

"What?" Gilbert said, already unwrapping a sandwich from the pile, and throwing aside the red and blue wrapper that had 'Diesel's' written on it.

"That's a lot of food." Was all Matthew said, counting four sandwiches, two fries, and two drinks.

"Yeah, well I'm hungry." Gilbert shrugged, and then picked up one of the sandwiches, a thing of fries, and a drink, then placed them in front of Matthew. Matthew looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"What is this?"

Gilbert took a bite out of his sandwich. "Yours. I decided to just buy you something in case you were hungry."

Matthew stared at it a moment, a flush coming over his face. "Uh…thanks…" He said quietly and took the sandwich. He didn't know how to react. He may not like the food at the place, but no one had ever really bought him anything before, if you didn't include family. And plus, he really was hungry. He hadn't eaten anything yet today. Biting his lip, he took the sandwich, unwrapped it, and took a small bite out of it. It was chicken. He chewed slowly, admitting that it really didn't taste that bad, and watched at Gilbert devoured two cheeseburgers, a chicken sandwich, a large fries, and slurp up the last amounts of his drink in under five minutes. It took Matthew the same exact time to finish his portion of food. Once Gilbert was done, he pushed the tray aside with all of the garbage on it, and reached over, pulling something out of the plastic bag. It was a newspaper. "Check this out." Was all he said and threw it in front of Matthew.

At first, Matthew thought Gilbert was showing them their own paper, with the front page showing a large picture their own school adorned in graffiti, but then noticed that even though it _was_ a school on the front page, it wasn't theirs. But just like theirs, it was covered in paint, from words to just splatters. Matthew recognized the name of the school. Their school had gone up against them in basketball.

"Penns Marion?" Matthew read the name out loud his eyes widening in surprise, "Someone there did the same thing we did!"

"Yes. Yes they did." Gilbert said impatiently and tapped the picture, "But if you look closely…"

Matthew leaned in and read what Gilbert was pointing at in the picture. Written in big letters on one side of the wall was,

"BFT+A?" Matthew read the letters out loud and looked at Gilbert curiously. "What does that mean?"

"Bad. Friends. Trio." Gilbert said each word as he pointed to one letter after another. "It was the nickname Francis, Antonio, and I had made up years ago. We were really young and it was back when codenames were still cool. But sometimes when we were in public we'd shorten the name to 'BFT' just so that no one knew what we were talking about."

"So you mean that…" Matthew pointed to the letters, "This means Bad Friends Trio?" Gilbert nodded, and Matthew looked back down at the newspaper, "But what about the A? What does that stand for? Wait, unless—"

Gilbert smiled, and for the first time it seemed genuine, and relieved. "Exactly. It means we've found Antonio."

**Short chapter is short. **

**Mmmm…I think you guys are going to be happy to hear this, but you're going to find out very **_**very**_** soon what the three guys did to get in trouble (:**

**Stay tuned! And Please read and review!**

**Thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I made it to Chapter 10.**

**Words cannot express.**

**Haaaaa~**

**Enjoy Chapter TEN! OHMEHGAWD. –pops champagne- **

"So wait, because of this, you're _sure_ Antonio goes to Penns Marion?" Matthew held the paper in front of him, still studying the picture. Gilbert took his tray over to the trash and threw it all away.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Gilbert still had a grin plastered on his face, and he began counting the reasons. "The signature on the wall, it was painted the same exact day we did ours, it all adds up. It is him."

Matthew was pretty sure that it was Antonio also, and had to admit he was a bit relieved.

"So, now that you know where Antonio is, are you going to try and find him?"

Gilbert took a French fry from Matthew's little pile of food and ate it. "No…not right now. I have to think of a way that I can meet up with him without causing attention. And hopefully I can be more prepared than I was with Francis…"

Matthew tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow. Sure the car ride over had been slightly hectic, and Gilbert hadn't looked too happy when he had come back, but still… "What happened with Francis?"

Gilbert looked up as if he realized he had said that out loud. He shook his head and grabbed another fry. "Nothing."

Matthew found a weak spot. "Hmmm…it doesn't seem like nothing…"

"Well, you're crazy." Was all Gilbert said, and he stood up. "Come hang out with me."

Matthew's eyes widened for a second, and his heartbeat seemed to become really loud all of a sudden. He tried to act normal. "See? There you go, ordering me around again."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Just shut up. I'm bored, and I have no one else to hang out with." He walked toward the exit, and Matthew followed him.

"But what about all of your friends? Aren't you super popular, or something?"

Gilbert laughed bitterly. "What friends? You mean the ones that got sent away?"

Matthew stopped, "Oh. I-I didn't mean—"

"Don't worry about it." Gilbert said as he opened his car door. He stepped in and sat down, taking his keys out of his pocket. Matthew stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Wait, so was Gilbert serious about wanting to hang out with him? Should he just get in the car? Or wait, should he ask if he can get in the ca—

"Why are you just standing there?" Gilbert was giving him a weird look.

"O-oh, uh—"

"Get in before I run you over." Gilbert rolled his eyes and started the car. Matthew hurried over to the passenger side, and got in.

"Um…" Matthew paused, not really sure of what he was going to say. "This car is really…big."

"Of course it's big, why do you think it says 'XL' in the name?" Gilbert said to Matthew like he was talking to someone slow. And Matthew had to admit that he hadn't really said the smartest thing right there. Gilbert continued. "No, I hate this thing. It is too fucking big. I'd rather be driving something like a Camaro or Mustang. That shit is fine. The only thing I like about this car though, is the bass."

"I see…" Matthew was having a hard time keeping up with the car names. If it weren't for the Transformers movie, he wouldn't have known what a Camaro even was. One type of car that he knew a lot about however was trucks. And that was just because Alfred would recite trucks name all the time like it was nothing. Because more than anything, Alfred wanted to own one of those Ford f250's, all to himself.

"You know, why did you want me to stop at that coffee place the other day?" Gilbert asked, as he turned onto an avenue in the uptown part of the city. Here the streets were one way with three lanes, giving the driver more freedom to push the boundaries of driving a bit.

"Oh, well…" Matthew looked out the windshield, "I was, uh…getting a job application there."

"Seriously?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow and looked at him as they slowed to a stop at a red light. "A job? You?"

Matthew gave him an indignant look. "What? Do I _look_ like I can't work?"

Gilbert didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"You should look at yourself." Matthew sneered out. He felt offended, but then again, Gilbert had a habit of doing that.

"Oh ho ho. Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. I do have a job."

This surprised Matthew. "You have a _job_."

Gilbert looked like he was pouting, "Okay, why does that surprise you?"

"Because you're…" Matthew made a movement with his hands like he was waving at all of Gilbert.

"Okay, you know what, don't answer that. But yeah, I have a job. It's just the fact that I hate it."

"Where do you work?"

"At my dad's auto mechanic shop. You know the one by the West entrance to the mall?" Matthew nodded. "Yeah, he owns that place."

"So, it's like a family business?"

Gilbert looked both ways before he turned onto a different street. "I guess. Ludwig works there too. He and my dad both work on the cars and stuff, since they're all into that shit, and I help sometimes. But you know, they have to have someone work at the desk to answer the phone calls and fill out the paper work, and they make me do that stuff…" Gilbert looked irritated.

Matthew understood. Well, at least the best he could. Between Gilbert, his father, and his younger brother, he was the one that was left to do the boring stuff. He hoped he wasn't treading on bad ground when he asked the next question.

"I'm sorry if this is personal or something, but if you hate it so much, then why do you work there…?"

Gilbert sighed. "Well, you see, that's where it gets complicated. I guess I'm 'paying' my parents back, and my dad thought the best way for him to punish me for getting in trouble at school was to make me work at his place. Of course, I'm pretty sure he didn't know he had already overdone it when he took away my cell phone and my mp3 too. But maybe that was his intention…" Gilbert looked like he was thinking about it, and then continued. "Either way, I'm only doing it for a few more weeks, or until I can pay him back. The only good thing about it is that my dad actually stays after the place closes with me to help me fix my car."

"Oh…" Matthew tried to swallow back down the jealously that welled up in him. He decided to change the subject about parents. "How badly damaged was your car from the accident?"

"Pretty bad." Gilbert looked sorrowful. "Some people that saw it happen said that it rolled like, three or four times. So yeah, it's all scratched up on the top, the one window was shattered, and the windshield is all cracked. A taillight was broken, so was a rearview mirror, and don't even get me started on the dents…"

"That sounds…really awful." Was all Matthew could bring himself to say.

"Yeah, it's awful. That thing was my baby. I nearly killed the guy when he refused to pay the charges."

Matthew noticed Gilbert was carrying on a pretty carefree conversation, compared to the last two times he had been inside a car with him. He seemed rather at ease. "Were you injured?"

"I had to get thirty stitches on my right arm because it got cut on some of the glass, and I had a concussion. But other than that, no."

"Wow, that's really minor. I mean, because of the—"

"I know what you mean, and believe me. When I finally remembered everything, I was surprised too. But I was a little glad, I guess. I mean, I could still walk and everything two hours after the wreck, but everyone was freaking out about me anyway. I hate it when people do stuff like that, and I tried to convince them that I was fine, but it didn't really help."

"I don't blame them." Matthew said quietly as he thought back to when Alfred had fractured his leg. Matthew had been scared half to death, blowing the whole thing out of proportion and practically convincing himself his brother was going to die from a broken leg.

He saw Gilbert look over at him, then back to the road, and there was silence for a moment.

"You know…" Matthew decided to break the silence, "You seem…calmer than usual. You know, when you're usually in a car…"

"Ahh…yes. My little PTSD, car style. Well, I guess you could say that I'm not as jumpy because I know that in this car, anyone that gets in my way, they have to deal with this big-ass-four wheel drive."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Um…that's very blunt."

"No kidding. I don't like sugar coating these kinds of things…" Gilbert looked out his window, as he pulled into a parking lot in front of a Supermarket. "…shit."

"What?"

"I am so not parallel parking this bitch." Gilbert said in a tone that reminded Matthew of a girl complaining when she doesn't get what she wants. Matthew scanned the lot and saw that indeed, the only spaces open were ones that required you to parallel park.

"What, did you fail that in your driver's exam?" Matthew teased.

"You shut up." Gilbert snapped. "Everyone always fails something."

"Yeah…I did rolling stops."

"Wow. And that's like, the one thing that everyone knows not to do in front of the teachers."

"Oh, but guess what? At least I can parallel park."

"You know what, fuck this." Gilbert said suddenly and pulled right into a handicap space. Matthew stiffened up.

"Okay, _no_. You said we wouldn't be getting in any trouble." Gilbert pulled the keys out of the ignition and looked at him.

"What are you talking about? We won't get in any trouble."

"Um. Look. This is a handicap parking place—"

"Uh, yeah. I know that."

"No, I mean, you could get fined for parking here. Last time I checked, you're not handicapped!"

Gilbert sighed, opened the car door, and hopped out, turning to look back in at Matthew, who was still sitting in his seat. "Okay, look. I have two reasons on why we won't get in trouble. One, look at the size of this parking lot. For starters, I don't think anyone is going to notice our car out of a million others, and two," He emphasized by patting his knee with the brace on it, "I have a very good reason! This is as good as being paralyzed in my books!"

Matthew unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. "You're such an idiot. If we get in trouble, I'm going to also tell them that you kidnapped me. That would look real good on your records."

Matthew missed as Gilbert's smirk twitched slightly into a grimace at the final words.

"Well, you can imagine it all you want, but reality just called and says we most likely won't get in trouble."

Matthew looked up at the store. "What are we even doing here anyway?"

Gilbert shrugged. "Aren't you hungry?"

Matthew had to stop there. "Hungr—we just _ate_."

"Hmm…then that means I'm the only one with the serious case of the munchies."

"Wow, who even says 'munchies'?"

"The real question is, why are you so critical?"

"I'm not being critical. I'm just wondering why you never seem to act your age."

This caught Gilbert's attention. When they got into the store, he gave Matthew that odd look again he had so many times before. At this point, Matthew was able to decipher it a little. The look wasn't _bad_, but it still didn't mean that he didn't feel extremely uncomfortable when he would look at him like that. Matthew shifted slightly.

"What?"

Gilbert looked away, his voice oddly calm. "Nothing. You just remind me of my friend." Before Matthew could respond to this, Gilbert pointed toward one aisle of the store. "Get me some goddamn Doritos and a thingie of Mountain Dew. And some cookies or something. Nothing with nuts or raisins, I hate those."

"What am I, your servant?"

"Hey, I'm the one paying."

Matthew sighed and walked off toward the aisles as he mimicked Gilbert under his breath. He grabbed a bag of Doritos off the shelf and a liter of Mountain Dew, tucking it under his arm. As he walked back through the aisles looking for Gilbert, something caught his attention. A kid, around his age was walking up the aisle that held all the spaghetti. He stopped at one section, picked up a box of spaghetti and looked at it like he was scanning the ingredients on the back.

At first, Matthew thought it was Feliciano. He would often go off on a rant in class about how much he loved pasta. He looked almost sad as he stood there reading over the ingredients.

But then Matthew saw that it wasn't Feliciano. He had darker hair, and his face looked older. It was Romano.

Matthew stood in his place a second too long, and Romano noticed. He looked up from the spaghetti and glanced over at Matthew. Matthew raised his hand to wave, but decided against it when Romano fixed him with a fierce glare.

They stood there for a moment, Romano glaring at him, and Matthew uncertainly biting his lip. Had he done something wrong?

But only for a moment. Romano turned and stomped away around the corner. Matthew sighed in relief and realized that he had been holding his breath. Sure, Romano was the meaner of the twins, but Matthew had never actually been singled out by him before.

Even though he had been shaken, he decided not to think anything about it. He had heard Romano yell at a kid before simply because they dropped a pencil in front of his desk once. So the kid had a temper. He was probably that way to everyone, and Matthew was no exception. As he walked away to find Gilbert, he hoped that he was right.

* * *

"Yes! Finally!" Gilbert had driven them into the back roads, were the city became more rural. This section of the city was where most people farmed, and there were acres of untouched forests and meadows. Matthew expected Gilbert to keep driving down the road, but was surprised when he suddenly turned a sharp left and began driving through the grass instead.

"Uh, Gilbert? What are you—"

"Just hold on a minute. You'll see."

The trees opened up and Gilbert pulled out into a clearing, and Matthew saw what he was talking about. They were parked on top of a rather steep hill that gave away at the bottom to a large grassy field. On the field, several people were kicking a soccer ball back and forth.

"I _knew_ I would find him here." Gilbert said, sounding victorious. He turned off the car, and opened the door.

"Find who?" Matthew said scanning the people.

"You'll see him," Gilbert said as he grabbed the top of the car and used his seat to boost himself onto the roof, "he's not that hard to miss."

Matthew got out of the car and looked up at Gilbert, who was now sitting cross legged. "What are you doing up there?"

"It's the best seat in the house! Bring all the food up here when you come up."

Matthew reached into the backseat and grabbed the two plastic bags, one holding the drink and cookies, and the other holding the chips. He crawled up onto the roof and handed Gilbert the stuff. Without hesitating, Gilbert ripped open the Doritos as Matthew settled in next to him. And Gilbert was right. It really wasn't that hard to find him.

"Isn't that your brother?" Matthew pointed toward the muscular person with blond hair crouching in front of a very old looking goalie net.

"Yup. That's Luddy. Ain't he so cute?" Gilbert said fondly and Matthew looked at him, then at Ludwig, then back at him.

"Uh…"

"You don't have to answer that, I was just joking." Gilbert untwisted the cap of the Mountain Dew and took a drink out of it. When he finished, he wiped off his mouth and handed it to Matthew. He hesitated.

"You can chill, I'm not sick or anything." Gilbert said when he noticed Matthew's expression.

"Well, I know, it's just that…" Matthew was slightly embarrassed that he was making a fuss over it, but well, Gilbert's _mouth_ had been on that.

"Oh, stop being a baby. It's not going to kill you."

Matthew took the bottle from him and gave it a look before rotating it slightly, and taking a drink from the edge where Gilbert's mouth didn't touch it. He heard Gilbert laugh at him, and he glared back. It was just then that one of the people down below kicked the soccer ball into the goal and Ludwig dived for it, catching it before it could go in.

Gilbert was on his feet in seconds and to put it lightly, Matthew was shocked when he started shouting at the top of his lungs, "YEAH! GO LUDWIG! THAT'S MY BOY!"

In fact, he had shouted so loud, Ludwig and several other people's heads turned up toward the hill where they were. Matthew's face grew red in embarrassment.

"What are you doing?" He hissed as Gilbert sat back down.

"I'm just cheering on my baby brother." Gilbert grinned at him and reached into the bag of chips, taking a few.

"You're such a mean older brother. You're just trying to embarrass him aren't you?"

"Not entirely true. Even though he is one totally fun to embarrass."

Matthew looked back down at the field and leaned forward, intrigued. "Hey, wait. Isn't that Feliciano?" He pointed toward the familiar Italian as he tried to shoot the soccer ball into the opposing goal.

"Yes it is." Gilbert answered and they both watched as he managed to kick the ball past the goalie. Gilbert once again stood up and cheered, and Matthew watched as Feliciano ran over to Ludwig and they both high fived. Gilbert sat down and took another swig from the Mountain Dew.

"You know Feliciano?" Matthew was surprised.

"Of course I do." Gilbert said like it was obvious that he knew him, "Feli comes over to our house to hang out with Ludwig all the time."

Matthew still couldn't seem to match up Ludwig's serious attitude to Feliciano's unusually boisterous one. So he had been right at the school after all. Feliciano hadn't been talking about some other Ludwig. He had been talking about Gilbert's younger brother. But as he watched Feliciano score another goal ("GO FELI!"), and Ludwig jogged over to congratulate him, there was an aura about them that seemed to somehow fit. Even though their personalities were so different, they still somehow managed to be friends.

"You definitely don't see a pair like that everyday." Matthew decided to throw out there as the players all switched positions and now a kid with black hair was standing at the goal, and Ludwig was one of the defenders.

"Well, yeah, most people think that. When people see Ludwig, they expect him to be some Ex-marine or in a gang, or something. But then they see that his best friend is an Italian that skips around happily, and people just aren't so sure anymore. I guess I'm used to it, considering they've been friends for so long, it just doesn't really bother me as much, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"But more importantly, it's that no one really knows is that Ludwig is a really nice guy. Hell, when he was younger he used to pick up bird nests and put them back in trees, and every stray kitten he found, he'd try to keep it in secret so that our parents didn't know. He doesn't do stuff like that anymore, but he still thinks of others before himself, even though most people don't know it. His personality tends to make him unapproachable sometimes."

Matthew was staring at Gilbert, surprised by the way he was affectionately talking about his brother. Gilbert noticed him staring and he looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

"Nothing." Matthew looked away, trying to hide the grin on his face, and reached into the box that held the cookies.

"Don't tell me nothing—Oh, hold on a minute. YEAH LUDWIG! YOU DEFEND THAT BALL!" When Ludwig turned to look up at Gilbert, Gilbert's face broke into a huge grin and he waved, "I LOVE YOU!"

Matthew could see Ludwig's face grow red all the way from up on the top of the hill. He shook his head and placed it in his hands. Matthew couldn't help it and he laughed. It _was_ sort of funny, even though he felt sorry for Ludwig. He was thankful Alfred never did this to him.

The game went on for another hour as the players rotated positions after every goal, ("I AM _SO_ PROUD OF YOU!") and Matthew's stomach hurt so much by the time the game was over from eating his fill of cookies and chips, and laughing at Gilbert as he continued to yell down at Ludwig.

But as the storm clouds began rolling in, and they could feel the first few drops of rain landing on their faces and arms, they decided to take cover in the car. Everyone down on the field thought the same thing, and they hurried to their cars and left.

"Well, that was fun." Gilbert commented as he started the car. The rain began falling heavier, and Matthew glanced down at the clock on the dashboard, his eyes widening in surprise. He had spent four hours with Gilbert. Four hours of absolute fun, as cheesy as it sounded. When they reached an intersection and they stopped for the red light, he heard Gilbert gasped, and then he was suddenly smacking Matthew on the arm to get his attention.

"What?" Matthew looked at him irritated, but Gilbert was smirking.

"Look at who's next to us." And he pointed with his finger toward a black Taurus that had stopped next to them. Through the rain, Matthew could just make out Ludwig on the driver's side and Feliciano sitting in the passenger sit. Both were oblivious to who was next to them, as Feliciano was talking energetically about something in the car. Gilbert laid his hand on the horn and beeped several times. Ludwig turned his head and his face went from confusion to absolute horror.

"I LOVE YOU, LUDDY!" And as the light turned green, Ludwig sped up the car, leaving Gilbert and Matthew laughing until they couldn't breathe.

"You're so…so mean…" Matthew gasped out and he began laughing again.

"Am not. I'm looking out for him. I am being the big brother any kid would wish for."

"I wouldn't want you as my big brother. God, all the therapy…"

"Well, you just don't appreciate the simple things in life." Gilbert turned on the radio, and suddenly the stereo was blasting out 'Bulletproof' by La Roux. If it got any weirder, Matthew watched as Gilbert beat his hands against the steering wheel and sang along to the song. Gilbert noticed the weird look he was giving him, and he turned to Matthew. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just a bit weird that I'm sitting next to some guy singing a song by a girl."

"Oh, come on, It's all I have! I don't really like this song, but because my dad took away my mp3, it's going to have to do. If it were up to me, right now we would be listening to Nicki Minaj."

"Okay, you said something about her on the phone. Who is she?"

"Nicki Minaj? She's my girl."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "You're weird."

"Ha. You say that now, but go look up some of her music when you get home."

"Sure. Whatever." Matthew looked out the window as the rain continued to pour heavily down, and noticed in surprise that Gilbert was already pulling into his neighborhood. He remembered when Gilbert had dropped him off the night before and had commented on what a 'Bitching house he had'. Matthew tried to hide the disappointment that welled up inside his chest when they stopped in front of his house. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but it had been fun hanging out with Gilbert and he didn't want it to end.

"Thanks for the ride home…" Matthew said quietly as he moved his hand to the door handle.

"Wait a minute, shortie." Gilbert said and Matthew looked over at him. Gilbert was looking down at the floor, as the music played on. "Um…I'm free on Mondays and the weekend. And uh, yeah…there's a party going on this Saturday at Vash's house, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to…you know, come along and hang out with me there?"

Matthew had no clue in the World who Vash was, but at the same time, the mention of a party made him slightly nervous.

"Um, I don't know…"

"Aw, why not? Doesn't your brother hold parties all the time, or something?"

"Well, yeah," Matthew's eyes shifted, and he stared out the window, "But it's just that I don't really like them…"

"Oh, so you're not a party-goer?" Matthew shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I can fix that." Matthew looked up at Gilbert's face and saw his trademark grin. "Just come with me, you'll have fun. It's not that bad."

Matthew placed his hand on the door handle. "I'll…think about it…" and he opened the car door.

"Wait." Matthew turned and suddenly the empty bag of Doritos was thrown in his face. "It's raining out there."

"Oh, thanks." Matthew threw the bag into the bag of the car. "I'll be fine without it." Matthew looked up and he grinned at Gilbert.

"Whatever then. Get wet, see if I care."

Matthew waved goodbye to Gilbert one more time before he ran up the stairs to his house.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Alfred asked as Matthew closed the door. He was lying on the couch, eating a huge bowl of ice cream.

"No thanks…" The site of all the ice cream made Matthew slightly sick. "I ate with a friend." And he started up the stairs, ignoring the sarcastic remarks Alfred threw at him. ("A friend? Wait, you have friends?")

He closed his bedroom door and grabbed a towel. As he dried off his hair, he reached under his bed and pulled out a plastic bag that was full of his clothing from last night. When he had gotten home, he had ripped off the clothing, thrown it in the bag and hid it away so that no one (namely, Alfred) would find it until he found a better hiding place. He reached in and pulled out the hoodie Gilbert had lent him. He had told him to keep it, but…

A blush went over his face and he stuffed the hoodie back in. What kind of person was Gilbert? He was a complete jerk, but at the same time…

Matthew sighed. Summer had just started, but he had a feeling it was going to be one to remember.

**Oh YESSSSSSSSSSSSS.**

**YES.**

**Andddd…I was originally going to squeeze the party into this chapter, but so much shi—er, poopy hits the fan, that I decided it deserved a chapter all to itself :3**

**Thank you all for reading!**

**Please read and review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry for getting this chapter posted so late! I was away in Bowling Green, Ohio soaking up the sun. I hope you guys didn't think I abandoned you all…**

**Oh. YES! I want to thank every single one of you for reviewing my story! It means SO FRICKIN' MUCH to me that you all love this story! I enjoy writing it for people that love to read it! :) Once again, thank you!  
**

**Annnd, forty pages later…Ugh. So. Much. Typing.**

**Enjoy!**

"You seem troubled."

Matthew offered a small smile to Ivan as he skated up to him. Matthew had gone over to the sidelines to retie his skates, all the while his mind had been stuck on two things. Gilbert, and what Gilbert said about the party. Which were…almost the same thing, in a way.

Ivan was Katyusha's younger brother. Both siblings were kind to him, and Matthew was thankful for that. Ivan was over six feet tall, taller than many people on their hockey team, had silver blonde hair, just a bit lighter than Katyusha's, and his entire physique was, to put it simply, massive. He had a Russian accent, and spoke in a very upbeat, jovial tone. Even when he was angry, which Matthew found pretty freaky.

Not that Ivan had ever been mad at him, thankfully no. But sometimes people on other hockey teams would try to get haughty with him after a game out in the parking lot. Of course, those people were instantly sorry for doing so. No one on Matthew's own team dared to mess with Ivan. But because of Ivan being big and aggressive, he was never benched during a hockey game (If you can exclude the one time where he bashed heads with an opposing team player, causing them to get a head injury, and him a penalty).

Matthew grew up in Canada, where hockey was much more popular than in America. He played it with his friends and got really good at it. He begged his parents to let him play on the team at his school, and they had reluctantly agreed. But as he continued to get better and better at it, his parents no longer seemed to complain, and actually got into hockey, learning everything about it so that when they attended his games, they would know when to jump out of their seat to yell at the coach for giving his team a penalty, and to cheer when his team was winning.

Matthew forced himself away from the memory. His parents no longer attended his games, and he didn't want to be reminded about that.

But when they had moved to America, he had been devastated when he found out that their school didn't have a team. He searched until finally, just half an hour out of the city, he found the arena. Since it wasn't part of the school, uniforms cost money, and you had to try out.

It had been the middle of the season, lowering his chances of being allowed to join, but Matthew wasn't afraid. And in the end, he had no reason to be. As he put on the hockey gear, he heard several of the guys snicker as they stole glances at him. He had to admit, he wasn't super muscular, or taller than five foot seven, and maybe that comment about him looking a bit like a girl was a little true…but that didn't stop him. Holding his head high, he skated out into the arena and stood in front of the coach, who looked over his body in disapproval before he began shouting orders at him.

"Shoot the puck! Hit it in the net! Do it again! Skate to the end of the arena and back twice and shoot it again! Again! Again!"

Matthew followed the orders with ease. When the coach told him to do it again, but faster, he went faster. The orders began to get more complicated, but Matthew skated on, and when the coach no longer shouted any directions at him, and only silence filled the arena, he took his helmet off to see all the guys on the hockey team standing on the sidelines, their mouths hanging open, and the coach wearing a small grin on his face.

"Welcome to the team, Mr. Williams."

He was rather aggressive, and because of his size, he could move faster and squeeze himself into places most players couldn't. He had been a big contribution to the team.

But because he seemed to a set a wall up against himself and the rest of the team, only one person had actually gotten him to be his friend, and that was Ivan. He did talk to the other players, but the only one he truly enjoyed keeping up a conversation with was Ivan, due to their similarities.

"Well…I'm not troubled…" Matthew said, choosing his words carefully as he finished tightly knotting his skates. He stood up and skated out onto the ice next to Ivan. "What if someone invited you somewhere, but you didn't really want to go?"

Ivan tilted his head at the question. "Then I would just say 'no'?"

Matthew sighed and shot a puck into the goalie net, "I wish it was that simple. Okay, what if you couldn't say no because…" Matthew trailed off, unable to find the correct words to describe it, "Because you just couldn't?"

Ivan shot his own puck into the net and turned to Matthew. "If you don't mind me asking, where is it you are being asked to go?"

Matthew lowered his head and blushed slightly. "Er…to some party on Saturday at some guy's house…"

Ivan grinned slightly, "You mean Vash's house, yes?"

"Uh…yeah! Vash! I think that's who it is…wait, how did you know?"

"You are not the only one that knows about the party. He practically invited our entire junior class. But why don't you want to go?"

"Can't you tell?" Matthew said and spread out his arms, displaying his body, "Do I look like some sort of party-goer?"

"You do not need to look like a party-goer to be one. Besides, doesn't Alfred hold parties all the time or something?"

Matthew found it funny that when it came to parties, someone was always there to mention his brother. "Well, yes he does, and you know that." And Ivan did. Alfred was friends with Ivan, even though there was an atmosphere about them that seemed tense at times. Ivan had been to some of his parties before, and Matthew had seen him, "But I usually go upstairs or something…I just don't like…"

Ivan shot another puck into the net just as the coach blew his whistle. "Okay guys! Go get changed!"

"Well, what about them don't you like?" Ivan asked as he took off his helmet and began skating to the exit of the arena.

Matthew bit his lip and took off his own helmet. "Um, well, it's a bit…stupid. But I'm afraid that I'll be out of place…and that I'll look like a loser…"

"There's no way someone could look like a loser unless they show up to a party that they weren't invited to." Ivan said as he took off his hockey jersey, and began unbuckling the padding underneath.

Matthew sat down on the bench and stared at the lockers. Gilbert had asked him to come along, not Vash. Did that still count as being invited?

"And besides," Ivan continued as he ran a hand through his sweaty hair, the muscles on his shoulders rippling, "if you really start to feel like a loser, just come and find me. I only ever sit around and drink alcohol. No dancing for me."

Matthew gave him a small smile in thanks. Ivan's promise of him being there had made him less nervous. He had to admit, even though he was afraid he would look like an idiot, he had never really attended a party before, and he wanted to try it out. He guessed that this Saturday was going to be the best time to start.

* * *

As the week had gone by, Matthew didn't see much of Gilbert until Thursday. He said that he had been busy at his dad's place, and by the time he got home, he was too tired to do anything else but eat and then sleep. They had met up because Matthew had finally forced himself to fill out the job application, and he was nervously taking it over to the coffee place to get an interview. When he was about to cross the intersection, someone in their car beeped their horn. Matthew saw that it was Gilbert in the Taurus he had seen Ludwig driving the other day. He feebly waved and Gilbert pulled off into a parking lane.

"Shortie!" Gilbert called joyfully and grabbed him roughly into a hug, "Oh, I was sooooo lonely! And you have no idea how fucking boring it is to work at my dad's place! Like, none."

Matthew's eyes widened and he had to remember how to breathe until Gilbert let go of him, a smirk on his face. He smelled like motor oil.

"You know…you should warn someone before you do that…" Matthew suggested, his eyes still wide.

"I like surprising my victims." Gilbert shrugged, "Anyway, what the hell's been going on with you?"

Matthew sighed. "Nothing…just turning in this application—"

"God, _finally_."

"_But_," Matthew continued, giving Gilbert a warning glare, "I can come to the party this weekend."

Gilbert grinned. "Nice."

"Yeah, but who is Vash anyway? And where does he live?"

"Vash? He actually lives really close to where I live—" A beeping noise interrupted Gilbert, and he reached into his pocket, rolling his eyes. He took out a pager and Matthew saw his eyes scan over it before he sighed and put it back in his pocket. "Listen shortie, I have to go. I'll come by your house on Saturday and pick you up around eight, alright?"

Matthew nodded, "Alright…"

Gilbert got back into the car and drove away. Matthew held the paper to his chest as he crossed the road. Seeing Gilbert again had given him a spark of confidence, and he walked into the coffee place, a little more hopeful.

* * *

"Mattie, are you going to use the car tonight?"

Matthew was eating a Hot Pocket he had just microwaved and he restlessly surfed through the channels on their TV. Gilbert had called him earlier and said that he was just leaving the house, which made Matthew go into panic mode. Was he wearing something appropriate for the party? Did he look okay? He didn't look weird or out of place did he? All the worrying had eventually led Matthew to stuff his face with food, and sit in front of the TV.

"Uh…no." Matthew said slowly. His mind was going everywhere at once.

A car horn from outside made him jump, and Alfred raised his eyebrow. He peeked out the window and saw the familiar site of Gilbert's huge Yukon outside. Taking a final bite out of the Hot Pocket, he threw it away in the garbage, then he walked to the front door.

"I'm leaving, Alfred!" Matthew said as he closed the door, not hearing his brother ask him who it was in the car outside.

Matthew tried to walk down the steps, but failed miserably as he tripped down the last two. When Matthew finally made it to the car door, he opened it and listened to Gilbert laugh at him little more.

"I'm so glad you think I'm so funny."

"Oh, you don't even know half of it." Gilbert said as he pulled away from the house. "You look like you're about to throw up."

_No kidding_. Matthew's heart was beating into overdrive, and his hands fidgeted restlessly in his lap.

"So, how was the interview thing on Thursday?" Gilbert asked.

"Oh, it was great." Matthew said in a fake cheerful voice, "Just look past how many times I say 'um' and I might have a remote chance of even being hired!"

"Shit, really?" Gilbert grinned. "And I thought _I _was bad. I have the tendency to say a swear word or two out loud when they interview me. I bet that really sits well with them."

"What, do you get nervous?"

"Who wouldn't? They're interviewing you for a job. You're supposed to be nervous."

Matthew studied Gilbert. In no ways at all did he seem like someone that would be nervous, even during a job interview.

"I don't know…the guy was pretty nice. His name's Tino and he owns the place. I wouldn't mind working for someone like him."

"It's hard to come by a nice boss these days." Gilbert said solemnly.

"Isn't your dad your boss?"

"Well, yes. But you see, he's my dad at _home_. At work, he's my boss. And he's a real asshole. I remember one time him and I got into it while we were working, and he threatened to fire me. I said he wouldn't because I was his son. That was a bad thing to say on my part, and he actually cut out half of my paycheck. I was really pissed, and when we got home, I expected him to still be mad at me, because I was still mad at him, you know? But instead, as soon as we walk in through the door, he's all fine and stuff, asking me things any dad would, like if I wanted to watch the basketball game with him or something."

"Wow, that really kind of sucks." Matthew said.

"No kidding." Gilbert replied. "Besides, I'm sure you'll get the job. They'd be stupid not to hire you."

Matthew was taken aback. "Oh, t-thanks…" He said and lowered his head. They drove in silence for a moment, until Matthew raised his head again. "Um, on Thursday, you said that Vash lived near you guys?"

"Oh yeah, he lives about half a mile away from us. We don't live in the country, but our neighbors are pretty spread apart. We live in Thirty Acres."

"Oh, that housing development?" Matthew was surprised. Thirty Acres was just bordering the city. The houses in the area weren't expensive, but they weren't cheap either. And the reason was, the place was famous for maintaining a hundred or so miles of forest ground, which was rare to find in a city. And a company decided to make some money out of it by building about forty houses surrounding of the forest. The area had been a success, and the houses sold in no time at all.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

Matthew shrugged, "I was just curious."

Matthew and Gilbert continued the casual talk—or as casual as possible—as they pulled into the road that entered Thirty Acres. Trees lined the road on either side, and every once in a while, a house would loom over them, and then it would be trees again. Gilbert pulled into another road, and started to slowly drive up the hill. It took a moment for Matthew to realize that they were going up a driveway as he listened to the gravel bounce up and hit off the car. Finally, they rounded a corner, and Matthew saw the typical scene of a party. About twenty people were outside, just getting out of their cars while music could be heard playing from inside, and the door was open, giving the view of several people already dancing along, holding their drinks in the air. Gilbert pulled off to the side of the driveway and turned off the car.

"Alright shortie." Gilbert began with a smirk on his face. "Are you ready to party?"

Matthew looked away from the scene. _No_. "Sure." Matthew lied and got out of the car, following Gilbert.

Here were some things that Matthew noticed were different from Alfred's parties. The first was that the beer, instead of being drunk from kegs and plastic cups, were all in glass bottles. Another was that there was no pool in their backyard. It was amazing that just those two things surprised Matthew so much. Also the size of the house was a big difference. If all the people had been at Alfred's party, they would have all fit on the first floor in the living room alone. But here, people had to stand on the staircase, and some people stood in the kitchen, and others had to spill outside also.

Gilbert face broke into a grin as someone walked toward them. Matthew instantly knew who it was.

"Hey Luddy! You got here fast."

"I wouldn't miss it. Vash bought German beer this time." Ludwig replied in his deep voice, holding up one of the bottles.

Gilbert seemed to brighten at that. "Really?"

Ludwig nodded, and he turned his attention to Matthew.

"Oh yeah, that's shortie." Gilbert said when he noticed Ludwig staring at Matthew.

"It's _Matthew_, actually." Matthew corrected, raising an eyebrow at Gilbert.

Ludwig took another drink from the beer before he held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Matthew. In case you haven't noticed already, my brother likes to give people nicknames."

Matthew smiled slightly and shook his hand. He had never met someone in high school that shook hands unless you had to be formal. And a party was one of the last places to be formal.

"Pffft. Luddy, go get laid." Gilbert said and tugged Matthew away from him.

"Wow, I like your brother way more already, and I've only known him for half a minute." Matthew commented as he fought his arm out of Gilbert's grasp.

"That's physically impossible. Your brain is just in denial that it loves me more, so to deal with the shock, it tries to convince itself that my brother is a total sweetheart, and that I'm a dick."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly disagree…"

Matthew smiled innocently up at Gilbert, and Gilbert pretended to mimic him before he spotted someone and straightened up. A man that was about Gilbert's height, with blonde hair and green eyes was walking up to him. Gilbert grinned.

"Hey Vash, long time no see." He held out his fist. Vash grinned, held out his own fist, and bumped them together.

"Nice to see that you showed up. Who's this?"

Gilbert opened his mouth, but Matthew beat him to it. "I'm Matthew." He said. Vash nodded and turned his attention back to Gilbert.

"Don't get drunk off your ass this time. My parents are still mad at you for breaking their cupboard."

"Only for you." Gilbert sneered, and Vash smirked at him before walking out the doorway.

"You got drunk and broke a cupboard?" Matthew asked, having a hard time hiding the laughter from his voice.

"You shut up." Gilbert warned him, but he had a grin on his face. They walked past several people that were chatting and toward a table that held several coolers. Gilbert reached into the one and pulled out two bottles, handing one to Matthew.

"Yeah, you probably don't drink beer, do you?" Gilbert teased.

"You'd be surprised." Matthew replied twisting the cap off, "I just don't really like the taste…"

"Wow, I've never really seen you as the drinking type…" Gilbert commented, and Matthew stuck his tongue out at him.

Matthew had to admit the party wasn't so bad so far from what he had seen. Everyone pretty much minded their own business, and no one looked at him weirdly, which he was thankful for.

"Hey, come with me. I want you to meet some people." Matthew nervously glanced at Gilbert before he followed him. He wasn't one for meeting new people, and he hoped that nothing bad would happen. They walked up to a couch that had three girls sitting on it. Each one wore shorts that showed off their tanned legs, and skimpy tanktops. He didn't know any of these girls, but he had seen them. Popular seniors, always surrounded by people. And not to mention, the one with blonde hair was the cheerleading captain, that much he knew.

"Hey ladies." Gilbert said with a smirk as the girl with blonde hair and the other with brown hair both stood up and hugged Gilbert separately. Matthew raised an eyebrow at him, and Gilbert smirked. Matthew had to admit that the girls were real lookers, but by the way Gilbert acted, you'd think he was a player. Matthew didn't have a hard time believing it.

"Matthew, this is Julie, Ashley, and Tove." He said pointing to each girl separately.

"Hey Matthew!" Julie said in a flirtatious manner, flipping her curled blonde hair away from her face. Matthew smiled nervously and waved back.

"Oh!" Ashley exclaimed, running her fingers through her dark brown hair, which was held in a ponytail, and pointing at Matthew. "This is Francis' cousin, right? You can totally tell."

"He's certainly got his looks." Tove smirked as she looked Matthew over. She was African American, her long black hair had a red tint to it. The other two girls laughed and Matthew blushed furiously. Had Gilbert been talking about him?

Ashley picked up her beer from the coffee table in front of them, "So Matthew, you're from Canada, right?"

Matthew nodded, and Julie gasped, "Oh my God, do Polar Bears actually live up there?"

Matthew watched Tove kicked Julie in the shin under the table.

"You have to excuse Julie." Tove said with a smirk, "The only reason she's managed to graduate from school is because her daddy can pay her way out of anything."

Julie pouted as she rubbed her shin. Ashley tilted her head. "Are you on the hockey team with Mark?"

"Ah, yes. He's the goalie." Matthew answered.

Ashley smiled, "Really? He's my boyfriend. I thought you looked familiar. I've been to some of the games."

"Oh, that's cool." Matthew said, and he began to relax slightly. The questions were all things that he could answer easily, and the girls were really nice to him.

"Wow, I guess I shouldn't have brought Matthew. Now you guys aren't giving me any love." Gilbert said and he sounded as if he were hurt.

"Fuck you, Gilbert. Matthew is way cuter than you. And not to mention, he's not a total douchebag." Ashley said sweetly.

"Oh, ouch. That hurt. What, are you never going to forgive me for breaking up with you?"

"Oh, believe me. I've been over that. I will never make a mistake like that again."

Gilbert put a hand over his heart like he was hurt. He actually did look slightly offended though when Matthew burst out laughing at what Ashley had said.

"See? Even he agrees." She said with a winning smirk and she winked at Matthew.

As the party went on, Matthew didn't really talk much unless he was talked to. He just enjoyed the fact that he seemed to fit into the crowd just fine, and despite the fact that he didn't look like a party-goer, no one cared. Mark came over and sat with them, exchanging a high five with Matthew and Gilbert. Some other guy that didn't introduce himself, but everyone seemed to know besides Matthew also came over to sit down. At this point, the alcohol was starting to really sink into everyone's systems, and even though Matthew had only drank a bottle and a half, he felt a little fuzzy. Time seemed to fly by, and Matthew saw that it was ten-thirty when things started getting out of hand.

So maybe he was a little drunk, but he wasn't smashed. He decided that by then he had drunk enough beer, and he just let the happy buzz carry him along. Ashley, Julie, and Mark were all laughing hysterically as they sang along to 'This Is the Way I Live', all holding their beers up in the air and leaning this way and that. Matthew turned to Gilbert and decided to ask him if he had actually dated Ashley when he noticed the guy Matthew didn't know had lit up a blunt and took an inhale into it before he passed it to Tove. Matthew's eyes went wide and he suddenly became nervous. Now, _this_ he hadn't expected to happen.

The blunt made its way around until it reached Julie. She took an inhale then handed it to Matthew with a suggestive smile. Matthew reached forward, unsure of what else to do, and took it. He looked at it like it was supposed to give him directions, and his hands shook slightly. Were they expecting him to smoke with them? Swallowing nervously, he looked up and saw that they were all watching him and waiting for him to take a hit.

"Uh, um, I, I'm sorry…" He said quietly, and he handed it to Gilbert who gave him a weird look. Without really thinking, Matthew stood up and walked past all the people who were swaying back and forth to the beat of the song. He kept walking until he found a hallway that was pretty deserted aside from a couple making out on the other side. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. He was starting to get a headache, and he swallowed and tried not to think about getting sick.

"Why the hell did you just leave?" The voice made Matthew jump, and he looked over to see Gilbert staring at him, not looking happy at all.

"Why…" Matthew said shakily, trying to make his brain form the words. "Why didn't you…tell me that there was going to be weed here?"

"Why would it have occurred to me that I should?" Gilbert said annoyed, "If you really didn't want to smoke it, no one would have given a shit. You didn't have to make a big show about it and walk away."

"I-It's just," Matthew said frantically, trying to find the words, "I mean, it's just that they don't do it when Alfred holds parties, so I didn't know, a-and if I got caught here—"

Gilbert was suddenly very close to him. Matthew didn't know if it was how close Gilbert was, or if it was the alcohol, but he suddenly felt very dizzy. It didn't help that Gilbert leaned over until they were face to face, and he had placed his hands on Matthew's shoulders.

"No one's going to catch us out here." He said firmly.

Matthew blushed and looked away. "I-I know, it's just…"

Gilbert smirked as he straightened up. "How can you still be jumpy after two beers? I think I know something that will calm you down. Wait here, alright?"

Matthew gave a very meek 'okay' and watched as Gilbert walked away, apparently not drunk at all after four beers. Matthew sighed and turned his head. His eyes scanned the people and they fell upon someone leaning against the wall on the other side, watching the people dancing with and indifferent expression on his face.

Ivan.

Sure, Gilbert had told him to stay right there, but he could easily see Ivan from where he was standing. If he went over there, Gilbert would still be able to see him. He pushed off the wall and walked through the crowd of people. Ivan looked over and his face broke into a grin when he spotted Matthew, and he smiled back.

"Well then, how's your party experience going?"

"Well, it's…unusual." Was the only word Matthew could bring himself to say to describe how he felt about the party. He had originally been having fun, but the whole weed thing had thrown him off a bit. He vaguely wondered if Ivan smoked weed also.

"Unusual? Not amazing? Or even awful?"

Matthew shrugged. "Well, I was having fun…"

Ivan looked like he understood what Matthew meant. "But how are you doing?"

Ivan was the one who shrugged this time. "I'm doing fine. A little bored. I don't really know anybody at these kind of things, so…"

"Oh."

Ivan looked at him for a moment before he asked, "I forgot to ask you at hockey practice, but who was it that you came with?"

"Huh?" Matthew looked at Ivan confused for a moment, then his brain caught up and he understood the question. "Oh. It was Gilbert."

It was then that Matthew realized he probably shouldn't have answered the question.

Ivan's eyes narrowed and he looked like someone had slapped him.

"What?"

Matthew paused, feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden. "U-um, you know…Gilbert Beil—"

Suddenly, Matthew was roughly yanked by his arm and before he could react, Gilbert was standing in front of him.

"What the fuck were you doing with him?" Gilbert's voice was dangerously quiet. Only Ivan and Matthew could hear it.

Ivan grinned, and Matthew felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. This was not good. No, no, no, no, this was not good. That look was dangerous. He watched Ivan raise his chin, still looking down on Gilbert. "I was only talking to him, is that so bad, Beilschmidt?"

Matthew swallowed slightly. He had no idea what was going on, and the alcohol in his system wasn't helping him to keep up with the situation. "Uh, Gilber—"

"Shut up." Gilbert snapped and Matthew closed his mouth. Some people that were close by had stopped dancing and were now watching the scene curiously as the music continued to play on. But Matthew could only hear a long, tense silence.

"Stay the fuck away from him."

"I wasn't doing any harm, you know that, don't you, Matthew?" Ivan said cheerfully, and he looked over at Matthew, "Why don't you tell him? We weren't doing anything wrong."

Matthew hesitantly opened his mouth, and Gilbert shoved him back again, harder.

"You keep him out of this."

"Why? Are you afraid that I might steal him away from you?" Ivan said in a sarcastically sad tone.

"Is this your new way of getting at me?" More people were now watching the scene between the two of them. Matthew felt his heart fluttering in his chest. Never, not once in his life, did he even imagine he would be involved in something like this. His eyes frantically scanned the crowd, looking at all the people watching. He wanted it to stop. He wanted it to stop right now. But no one was stopping it.

"I never said I was trying to get at you, but if you really want to think that, then okay."

"You know Ivan," Gilbert took a step forward, his voice so quiet, Matthew could hardly hear what he was saying, "Go the fuck back to Russia, where you belong."

Ivan's eyes no longer held the playful malice, and the grin was wiped completely off of his face.

"What?"

"You heard me." Gilbert hissed, "Go back and join your sister—"

Even for Ivan's size, he moved incredibly fast. Gilbert was shoved backward, crashing into the table with the coolers on it. A few people screamed in surprise, glass shattered, and Matthew jumped back, staring at Ivan and Gilbert, his eyes wide. Ivan began stalking toward Gilbert, his eyes looking murderous, and Gilbert was making his way to his feet. Matthew was breathing so hard, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears. He couldn't take this. He closed his eyes tightly as his last image being Ivan drawing back his fist.

A deep voice could be heard shouting through the crowd, "Stop! Stop it!"

Matthew slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The music was still playing, but everyone on the dance floor was standing still, watching the scene before them. Turning his head slowly, he saw that Ludwig was standing in between Ivan and Gilbert. He was holding Ivan's arm by his wrist. Ivan's was watching Ludwig with a bored expression, no longer looking murderous.

"Gilbert, go outside." Ludwig said quietly, not turning to look at his brother. Gilbert didn't move, and continued to glare at Ivan as if Ludwig weren't separating them. Vash pushed his way through the crowd of people that had gathered, and his eyes widened when they fell upon the broken table with the shattered remains of the beer bottles that had spilled out of the coolers.

"What the fuck…"

"Gilbert!" Ludwig nearly snarled.

Gilbert continued to furiously glare at Ivan, looking like he wanted to rip his throat out. The seconds seemed to turn into minutes, then hours. Finally, Gilbert turned away.

"Fuck you." He hissed at Ivan as he shoved past several people, the rest quickly moving out of his way. He threw open the screen door violently, the noise lost in the music. Matthew's eyes turned away from Gilbert toward Ludwig and Ivan. Ludwig had let go of Ivan's wrist, but he still seemed tense, his eyes averted towards the wall. Vash walked up to them, Ivan making a movement like he was trying to get the feeling back in his wrist, and began quickly talking to the both of them under his breath. Most of the spectators were exchanging glances with each other, but within seconds, everyone had shrugged it off, and once again, they were waving their hands in the air and dancing along to the music.

Matthew stood absolutely still. Everything had happened so fast. Gilbert had been fine earlier, and then suddenly he had changed so fast. And now he was outside somewhere…Matthew's gaze wandered toward the open door.

Without thinking, he made his way through the crowd of people that were now dancing again. He walked past the couch where Ashley, Mark, Tove, and Julie were all sitting. They called out to him, but he ignored them, walking toward the screen door that Gilbert had left open. He stepped outside and pulled it shut behind him. Gilbert was sitting in the grass a few feet off, loosely holding a bottle of beer between his fingers.

Matthew's initial shock had worn off, and now he only felt an intense anger, which mingled with his confusion.

"Gilbert, what the hell was that?" The words came out, his voice shaking slightly.

Gilbert turned around to look at him, and then turned away again, staring straight ahead into the forest. "It's none of your business."

"It's none of my—" Matthew scoffed and walked until he was standing in front of Gilbert, "I think it is my business, alright? Look, I was just talking to Ivan, and then you suddenly come out of nowhere and tell him to stay away from me?"

"You don't…" Gilbert's voice rose and then he stopped for a moment, visibly trying to clam down. He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled loudly. He started again, his voice sounding more collected. "You don't know anything about him."

"I don't know anything about him? Since when have you been the expert?"

Gilbert laughed then, but there was nothing humorous about it. He stood up slowly, and turned to face Matthew. "Okay, I know this may seem a little hard for you to comprehend, but I've actually known Ivan longer than you."

"Oh, so since you've known him longer, that gives you the fucking right to just come out of nowhere and try to get in a fight with him." Matthew said bitterly, his anger rising.

"I don't think you're even listening to me—"

"No, listen to _me_, Gilbert." Matthew snarled as he pointed to himself, "Ivan is a _friend_. I know him from hockey practice. And as far as I know, you're the one overreacting."

"Well, all this wouldn't have happened if you had just stayed in the fucking hallway, did you ever think of that?"

"I don't think that really matters!" Matthew shouted back, "Since have I had to do everything fucking thing that you tell me to?"

"Well okay, sorry!" Gilbert shouted back, "I'm sorry that I have the sense to think that the guy's a bit of a fucking lunatic!"

"You know what, I'm really sick of you!" Matthew felt the anger overflow, yelling things that he wondered if they were true or not, but not caring because they came out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Ever since the first time I met you, you've only ever put me through hell! You don't act your age, and you think it's funny to make other people do your shit! You'd think I'd get a fucking break by now, and now I'm just waiting for you to come up to me and make me find Antonio's address so that I can drive you over there."

"Okay, shut the hell up—"

"Why? Why should I? It was probably your fault he got in trouble anyway!"

"WELL MAYBE IT WAS!" Gilbert shouted so loud that Matthew stopped and watched him stunned. "MAYBE IT FUCKING WAS! YOU HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY! AND MAYBE IF YOU'D USE YOUR FUCKING HEAD, YOU'D SEE THAT I'M ONLY TRYING TO STOP YOU FROM ENDING UP WITH PEOPLE LIKE ME!"

The silence that followed was filled with ringing. Matthew's heart was beating fast, and he suddenly didn't feel angry anymore. Just scared.

"FUCK!" Gilbert shouted as he reached over and picked up one of the beer bottles and violently threw it at the wall of the house. The sound of the bottle shattering to a million pieces made Matthew jump. Gilbert turned away as he began walking down into the forest, his fists clenching at his hair, then unclenching, then running through his hair. Matthew watched Gilbert disappear from sight. His body was shaking so hard, he felt like he couldn't stand any longer. He had never seen someone have a violent outburst, and what's more, violently outburst at him. He was scared, sweating and shaking. He didn't know what to do. The music seemed to get louder and louder until he felt it pounding in his ears. He placed a hand over his mouth, stumbled forward a few feet and threw up in the bushes next to the woods.

"Matthew?" He heard Alfred's voice cut through his ragged breathing, and wondered for a moment if he was hallucinating. But he knew he wasn't when he looked up and saw his brother standing in the doorway with a shocked expression on his face. He realized the music getting louder had been his brother opening the door. "Matthew, what are you doing here?"

He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say. Maybe a few minutes earlier, he could have replied with a simple answer, but now, he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Maybe later he would tell his brother, but right now he couldn't. Wiping the spit off his mouth onto his shirt sleeve, he turned away from the house and began following the trail that led into the forest, trying to remember the exact way Gilbert had gone. Alfred shouted his name, but he ignored it until there was only silence.

He had no idea why he was following Gilbert, but something inside him shouted at him to keep walking. The way Gilbert had looked at him, he had almost been screaming for help. Matthew didn't know why he felt that he had to help him, but he knew he couldn't forgive himself if he didn't at least try.

The forest engulfed Matthew completely as he made his way down the trail. He slowed down and eventually stopped. Silence and darkness. He could hardly see anything ahead of him, and he had no clue if he was even walking on the trail anymore. He didn't know if he could walk any further. He had no idea how far Gilbert had gone down the path, and the trees towered over him. He felt like they were coming in closer and closer together, shutting off all of the exits, giving him no escape.

His breath came out of his throat like he was suffocating, and he looked around frantically, bringing his hands up to clutch his chest tightly, pulling at the fabric of his shirt. He wanted out! He didn't want to be there anymore!

But then he heard it. Softly at first. His own frantic breathing completely drowned it out and he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him. But then he heard it again. His head turned toward the noise, and he spotted a figure sitting on a fallen tree, just off the trail, illuminated by the moon.

"…Gilbert…?" Matthew said quietly and slowly began walking toward him. He had his elbows on his knees, and his head was bowed, his fingers knotted deep into his hair. The sounds Matthew had heard was Gilbert taking in shuddery breaths.

"Gilbert?" Matthew slowly sat down next to him, "Are you alright?" Gilbert made no movement to show that he knew Matthew was there and they both sat in silence. After a few minutes, Matthew guessed he probably wanted to be left alone, and he started to stand up when Gilbert's voice broke the silence.

"You know nothing about…about how we got into trouble, right?"

Matthew knew Gilbert was referring to him, Antonio, and Francis. There was more silence, then Matthew quietly answered, "No."

Gilbert still didn't raise his head. "It's not like I thought it would get us into so much trouble…and to be honest, it shouldn't have…but I was an idiot…and in the end, I lost two good friends…"

And as Matthew listened, Gilbert began to tell him what had happened.

* * *

"You know, I still can't believe that we're going to graduate in a week." Gilbert pondered as he leaned against the locker.

"Awww, is Gilbert starting to miss school already?" Antonio cooed with a smile on his face. Gilbert made a face at him, and he laughed.

"I know what you mean." Francis agreed as he sorted through his locker, "Just think, thirteen years ago, we were in kindergarten."

"Uuuhhh…" Gilbert stared up at the ceiling as he stretched. "Shit, I'm old."

"Not as old as me." Francis commented.

"Uh, okay. By like, a month."

"Not as young as me." Antonio chimed in.

"Shut up." Gilbert and Francis said at the same time. Antonio was born one year after the both of them, so he was always one year younger.

"I'm just…God. I'm going to be so fucking glad to finally leave this school. It turned into such a hell hole." Gilbert sighed.

"I know." Francis said solemnly, "Who would have thought that such a beautiful woman could be such a bitch?"

Gilbert coughed into his hand. "MILF!" Antonio snickered, but pretended to be concentrating on the book he was reading. Francis raised an eyebrow at them.

"Hey, don't get started with me." Gilbert raised his hands in defense. Francis just rolled his eyes. "You know something I miss?" both his friends looked at him expectantly, "Ever since she became our principal, there have been no more senior pranks."

"Ahh, yes." Antonio said with a small smile on his face. "Who could ever forget? Those were golden."

"Remember in ninth grade when the seniors stuck all those plastic forks into the ground everywhere?"

"And when they blocked off the school parking lot and had a barbecue right on it?"

"My favorite was still when they threw water balloons filled with slime at all of the teachers." Antonio said.

"That was a good one. But didn't that happen when we were in eighth grade?"

"Yeah, I think so. We never got to see it. Shame."

"You know what." Gilbert said as he stood up. "Why don't we do our own senior prank?"

Both his friends stopped and looked at him like he was crazy.

"Uh…"

"I don't think…that would be such a good idea…" Antonio said slowly. While Francis had common sense, Antonio had a bit more, often leading him to be the one that got into trouble the least. Most of the jokes and pranks that the three of them pulled were often Gilbert's ideas.

"Why not? It's not like we need to come out and shout that we did it. And besides it's not going to be that bad."

Francis grinned, "Well, what do you have in mind?"

Gilbert smirked. If Gilbert was the leader, Francis was usually the right hand man.

"What if we set off fireworks in the front lawn?"

"Nah, too risky."

"Agreed. Holy shit. What if we took all the textbooks, right? And then we totally made a fort out of them, blocking everybody out of the school?"

Francis laughed, "That would be awesome. But there's one problem. How would we get into the school?"

"I'm sure my brother can pull a few strings." Gilbert said, making a motion with his fingers like he was cutting with scissors.

"I have never seen so many teachers in love with your brother. I think he's even turned some of the male teachers gay. Er, no offense Antonio."

Antonio shook his head, "None taken."

"Dammit!" Gilbert sighed and he pursed his lips. "It should be something really fucking good, you know? But it's needs to be something that no one has done before…"

"Well, there's got to be one out there."

"You know what? I wish I had the divine creativity that bomb kid had." Gilbert said sarcastically. He was referring to a kid that had been in their junior class who had run up and down the hallways during their SATs yelling that there was a bomb in the school just so that he could postpone the tests. "Maybe _we_ should run up and down the hallways yelling that there's a bomb in the school."

"Yeah, I bet that would work out real well. I'm sure the majority of the school wouldn't freak out or anything."

"Guys, are you sure it's okay for us to be talking about stuff like this inside the school?" Antonio said nervously, his eyes shifting up and down the hallway.

Gilbert snorted, "What? Do you think that someone's eavesdropping?"

"No, it's just—"

"Toni, I don't think anyone can hear us, besides, we're only talking. It's not a crime." Francis reassured Antonio, but he still looked unsure.

"Come on Antonio." Gilbert placed a hand on his shoulder, "If you were Romano, what would you say? Oh yeah, that's right. Something like, 'Fuck you! You're German!'"

Antonio smiled slightly. His two best friends might be crazy, but they were still supportive in everything he did. Especially when they found out he was gay. Most people had looked at him differently after that, but Gilbert had only replied, "So _that's_ why he's always so damn happy!" while Francis only shrugged his shoulders and replied with an, "Okay."

"We probably won't even be able to do anything. Shame." Gilbert sighed.

Francis' cell phone rang and he answered it. "Hello? Yeah…yeah, okay." He hung it up, closed his locker, and picked up his book bag. "My mom's outside, I have to go. See you tomorrow."

Antonio and Gilbert both said goodbye as Francis walked away. Gilbert stayed after a little longer, until he also had to leave to go to a doctor's appointment about his knee. Antonio was the last to leave, reading a few more pages of his book, until finally he placed it into his backpack, stood up, and walked out of the school.

The next morning was the same as usual. Gilbert arrived at the school with his brother and he waited at the entrance for Francis and Antonio. But today, something was off.

Usually Antonio was the first to arrive, and Gilbert the second, then Francis would arrive last. They always joked about it, since Francis was the one that lived the closest. But today, Gilbert stood by himself for fifteen minutes, expecting Antonio to show up, but he never did. And when Francis finally arrived, they both knew something was up. If there was ever a day that one of them was sick, they always told the other two. Always. It had been that way since they were in elementary school.

"Did Antonio say anything to you?" Gilbert asked Francis and sighed when he only shook his head.

They just told themselves that Antonio had gone inside the school ahead of them, but they couldn't help worrying. After all, this had never happened before.

The three had first period together. There was no sign of Antonio. Neither saw him second or third period or in the hallways. It was lunchtime and Gilbert was eating his lunch that he bought from the school, when Francis leaned in. "Gilbert, I saw Antonio."

Gilbert swallowed his food and gave Francis a weird look. "Wait, he's here? Did he come into school late?"

Francis shook his head. He looked very worried. "No…He came into Calculus right before the period ended, and he…I don't know, I tried to have him talk to me, but he only shook his head and ignored me…"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, "Wait, why? You don't think that he…"

"I don't know…" Francis said, and they exchanged a look. Just then, Antonio walked up to the table and sat down slowly, ignoring their concerned glances.

"Hey, where were you?" Gilbert asked him.

Antonio slowly looked up at them both, his eyes wide, as he quietly answered, "I was in the office…"

Francis and Gilbert looked at each other. Antonio may have served a detention with them after school once in a while, but he had never been sent to the office unless the two of them were in tow.

"Well, why? And are you alright? You look really freaked out." Francis said, the more sympathetic of the two.

Antonio did something weird then. He looked both ways in the cafeteria as if someone were watching their conversation right then, which was highly unlikely. Francis, Antonio and Gilbert sat together at a table by the window, separated from the rest of the kids eating lunch. They were high in popularity status, therefore no one dared disturb them, letting them eat in peace. He leaned in toward the other two.

"Look, I don't know how they found out, but…" Antonio spoke in a hurried whisper, "Somehow they found out about us talking about pulling a senior prank yesterday, and how we mentioned stuff about a bomb threat and everything. They even have it on camera."

Gilbert's eyes widened, "What the fuck? They had a camera in that hallway? Where?"

Antonio shook his head, "I don't know, but the fact is, it's bad. It's really bad, the principal, she…" he trailed off and stared past them as if they weren't there.

"What is it?" Gilbert asked as he watched Antonio's eyes grow wide as he stared at one of the guards standing in the hallway.

"I—I have to go guys." Antonio said in a shaky voice, and grabbing his tray, he stood up and threw away his untouched food.

"Wait, Antonio!" Gilbert called, but Antonio ignored him as he walked out the hallway. The guard said something to him, he nodded, and then they both walked off together, leaving Francis and Gilbert to stare at each other.

It was during sixth period when a messenger from the office came into Gilbert's English class and gave him a pass to leave. He met up with Francis in the hallway, and they both continued to walk to the office together.

It wasn't so much that they were afraid of what was going to happen to themselves. Francis and Gilbert both were more concerned about Antonio's whereabouts. After all, he was like a younger brother to them in a way.

"Hello Gilbert, Francis." The school secretary said as she momentarily glanced away from her computer. "Please take a seat."

It didn't surprise them that the secretary knew their name. They were in there often enough. Gilbert turned to Francis and silently mimicked her, but Francis only offered a half hearted smile. Gilbert didn't blame him. He wasn't going to admit it straight out that he was nervous. No way. He always made a vow that he would be the last to get nervous in a bad situation.

The phone in the office rang a few minutes later and the secretary answered it. She spoke for a moment, then hung up.

"She'll see you now, Francis."

Francis stood up and gave Gilbert a look. Gilbert gave him a hopeful smile and watched his best friend disappear behind the door.

Gilbert spent the next half hour entertaining himself (much to the secretary's annoyance) by tapping his feet on the ground to the beat of a song in his head, flipping through his assignment book, and fidgeting with his hands in his lap. He kept glancing at the clock, but it never seemed to move.

Finally, the door opened and Gilbert stood up. He faced Francis and looked at him expectantly. But instead, he was faced with someone that looked as if he had been shot.

"Francis…?" Gilbert said slowly, expecting Francis to return to the one he knew. This one was moving like a robot.

Francis slowly looked at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"Gilbert?" Mrs. Bolden's voice cut through the silence. Gilbert looked up at her and saw she was wearing that fake sweet smile on her face. It was the smile everyone saw her wear in the hallways. She hated kids.

Gilbert glanced back at Francis one final time before he turned to the door and followed Mrs. Bolden inside the office. Francis hadn't met his gaze.

"So, Gilbert." Mrs. Bolden said as she sat down in a chair behind her desk, "How has your day been? Close the door."

Gilbert closed the door behind him and stood right next to it. "It's been fine… thank you."

The principal gestured toward the seat in front of her desk. "Please, sit down."

Gilbert glanced toward the chair then slowly took a seat.

"Now, I'll get right to it. I have come across some…intriguing evidence of you." She said, her hands folded in front of her. She was a beautiful woman, probably in her early thirties, but she was the devil in disguise. She was like Sarah Palin in Politics for men. Most of them only voted for her just so that they could watch her on TV all the time. She was thin, and shorter than Gilbert, but her blue eyes held a cold malice causing anyone taller than her to instantly back down. Her blonde hair was tied back tightly into a neat bun, and she wore square rimmed glasses.

It really wasn't all to uncommon that most of the male population at the school wished that she would whip off those glasses and let her hair fall freely and go all commando on them.

Mrs. Bolden looked up at him and he sat there, refusing to become uncomfortable under her gaze. They didn't say anything for a moment.

"Well, you see, yesterday I was staying late, finishing some paperwork when I happened to notice something."

_What, that you're a huge bitch?_ Gilbert continued to watch her. It annoyed the hell out of him that she always tried to make the other person uncomfortable. He had no doubt in the world that it had worked on Antonio. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt toward his friend. Whenever he or Francis got into trouble, Antonio often had to suffer along in the punishments with them, even if he hadn't done anything. But he was such a good sport about it that he never complained.

"Now, yesterday, correct me if I'm wrong, you, Antonio Benderez, and Francis Bonnefoy were inside the school at around four p.m. in the upper commons, right?"

Gilbert didn't say anything.

Mrs. Bolden's folded her hands in front of the desk and mimicked a confused pout. "Well, Gilbert? Yes or No? Because I have never quite seen such white hair and red eyes on any other person, and I have to admit, that one boy looked oddly familiar with that blonde hair…"

"Yes, we were all in the upper commons yesterday." Gilbert grinded out between his teeth, glaring at her.

The principal smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Now, that's more like it. Because goodness me, if I had brought in the wrong boys after all this time…"

"Look, can you just tell me why I'm here?" Gilbert snapped out.

Mrs. Bolden's smile slowly turned down into an irritated frown.  
"You will not speak unless spoken to, do you understand?"

Once again, Gilbert didn't answer.

"Do you understand?" She repeated again, but this time, it sounded more dangerous, with a warning.

Gilbert's lip twitched slightly, and even though it made him want to bite his tongue, he forced himself to reply, "…yes."

The smile reappeared again. "Good. Now, getting down to business. I think you may like to watch this, since you seem very eager to know why you are here."

The tape wasn't very long. And surprisingly, it was in color too. Gilbert sat in the chair and stared at the computer screen on the principal's desk, watching the three little figures. There he was leaning against the locker. He recognized Antonio sitting on the floor next to him, scanning a novel, and Francis was looking through his locker.

"I only had time to cut out one piece of the video, but I'm pretty sure that it was enough." She said sweetly, and Gilbert knew she was lying.

Despite the fact that they looked to be about twenty feet away from where the camera was on the ceiling, their voices came out crystal clear through the microphone.

"_Dammit! It should be something really fucking good, you know? But it's needs to be something that no one knows we did it…"_

"_Well, there's got to be one out there."_

"_You know what? I wish I had the divine creativity that bomb kid had. Maybe _we_ should run up and down the hallways yelling that there's a bomb in the school."_

Gilbert felt himself wince slightly at the final line. What he had said was now on this video that was caught on camera, evidence that he said something apparently clearly out of line.

The principal turned away from the computer and looked at Gilbert.

"Now, I hope you do understand why I am so concerned?" She said like he was a little kid. When he didn't answer she leaned in near him. "I have talked to your two little friends, and I hope that what you have said has not only concerned me greatly, but has forced me to act to the fullest extent of the school code."

"What's the big deal?" Gilbert blurted out, the words tumbling from his mouth, "Look, you can tell from the video that I'm joking, that I'm practically being sarcastic, and if you watch the rest of the video—"

"Even if I do watch the rest of the video, it will not change the fact that you have said something that has potentially endangered not only yourselves, but the entire school population." She snapped at him, and Gilbert didn't say anything else. There was a moment of silence before she refolded her hands and stared him down again. "Now, I will be very brief with you, as I am very sure that you don't like to sit around for very long. I have already contacted your parents, and your lockers have been searched—"

"What?" Gilbert snapped in disbelief, "You searched my _locker_?"

"As the school policy states, lockers are on school property, therefore we have every right to search them. And since what you said was more than valid reason to do so."

"But we were joking around!" Gilbert's voice rose higher and he felt his fists clench.

"Do _not_ speak unless you are spoken to!" The principal hissed. "I don't care if you were joking around! There have been people before that have said they were only joking around, and then the next day, they're bringing dangerous weapons to their school, in this case, _bombs_."

"But we wouldn't—"

"Be _quiet_! Now, I was talking to your parents earlier, and you're lucky. Because they've agreed to take the punishment into their own hands, I have decided that even though you deserve a much more _severe_ discipline, your parents seemed quite stern that they would carry out the punishment fully and thoroughly themselves, being that they check in with the school everyday to assure us they really are."

The words ran right through Gilbert. He had heard rumors, he had been in the principal's office for things before, but this was way out of line. He had said one thing, _one sentence_ and the principal was punishing all three of them.

"What do you mean…that I'm lucky?" The words left Gilbert's mouth, making it difficult to breathe. He didn't want to know the answer, and yet, he had to know. But he didn't think he'd be able to live down the fact that his two best friends were getting into trouble because of some stupid little thing he had said.

"That is highly confidential. But if you'd really like to know, Antonio was sent off right after lunch, and Francis will be—"

The world seemed to freeze and everything stopped for Gilbert. Sent off? _Sent away?_ Why? Because of something he had said?

"What?" Gilbert's voice came out a small whisper. "Sent…away?"

"Yes." Mrs. Bolden continued calmly. Even though we have only three weeks left of school, I would like to remind you that you remain fully a part of the school policy, and being a senior is of no exception. The past two years, I have had to watch you and your friends, and I have seen you do things that most teachers would immediately assign a detention to, but you three have always gotten away with it. I'm ashamed by the way that this system has been working; letting people like you get away with things that could potentially endanger the student body. In the end, I felt it the best way to put things back in order was to separate you three."

Gilbert didn't hear her though. He was shaking and staring at his hands. He was thinking of Antonio. Antonio, the youngest of the three of them, the kindest person you could ever meet, yet he still loved to cause trouble with him and Francis. Antonio, the one with the one with so much potential, earning a full paid scholarship to one of the best colleges out there because of his running. He was the one that always had a smile on his face even when they were having a bad day.

And now, Gilbert had seen fear written all over his face at lunch. He had been scared, and it was all because of something he had said.

It was all his fault. He had possibly thrown away everything Antonio—and Francis also—had in store for them, all because he thought it would be hilarious to joke about something.

"Why…why did you do this?" Gilbert said quietly, his voice rising slowly, "_I_ said those words! They came out of my mouth! Francis and Antonio said nothing nearly as dangerous as I had! Why can't you just punish me?"

"Well, you see, even if that were the case, Antonio has already been placed in his new school—"

"I don't give a shit!" Gilbert snarled, leaping out of his chair, "Antonio and Francis didn't say _anything_ and you can't just send them away because of something I said—"

Mrs. Bolden slammed her hand down on the desk, her face no longer filled with the face smile, now holding only an intense rage, "Mr. Beilschmidt, you _will_ be quiet! I have been elected to run this school, and I will with the full intent that I. Will. Have. Order. And if you or anyone else plans on standing in my way, I will make sure that you are punished to the full extent. I have seen things happen here that have been over looked for far too long, and I will not accept this! It's people like you that cause the downfall of others, and I think it's only appropriate that I deal with things my own way. I am the principal here, and you are the student. And if you decide to get smart with me one more time, I swear to you, if it weren't for the school board not passing my regulations, you would have been sent off to a detention center by now."

Gilbert felt sick. "You…you're not allowed to—"

"I am a figure of high authority. I make the rules around here, and I will punish when I find it necessary. Now, Francis will be taken to a different school tomorrow morning, and from there on out, you three will each be watched over to make sure you do not cause anymore problems. I also would suggest it be wise that you do not try to contact him, since it will only make things worse for you both. Oh yes, and it would be nice if you did not mention to anyone except for your parents about this little chat we've had."

Gilbert stared straight ahead, her voice only echoing in his head like a distant memory. He felt physically sick and he slowly sat back down in the chair. He didn't know how much longer he could take what he was hearing.

"Starting tomorrow, you will arrive at ten minutes after seven and sit in my office with me until seven forty every day. Your parents will make sure that you get disciplined to the fullest extent, and I hope that one day when I bring this up to your fellow classmates to show what happens if you decide to mess around with the system you are given, they will not hesitate. You are given privileges and people like you decide to abuse them. Your only hope now is that you've proven to be an example of what not to be, Gilbert Beilschmidt."

* * *

Gilbert didn't say anything a long time after that. Matthew sat next to him in a stunned silence as he watched him sit there, his head in his hands.

"It was…so stupid. It was so…the dumbest thing I've ever said, and they…they did this to us…" Gilbert lifted his head from his hands. His eyes looked red like he had rubbed them too much, and his hair was sticking up erratically from him constantly grabbing fistfuls of it.

"I…I was always the stupid one in the end. And now I saw that it was because of me that they're both gone. And there's nothing I can do about it…" He swallowed heavily and he turned toward Matthew, suddenly looking very tired. "I fucked up."

Matthew just looked back, unsure of what to say. He looked away, and wondered if it was the alcohol speaking for him when he looked down at his shoes and quietly said, "I don't think…it was just all, the wrong place at the wrong time, I think…"

There was a silence between them, then Gilbert snorted slightly. "Yeah…yeah, you could say that…" Matthew heard Gilbert make a movement like he threw something, then he heard it hitting the ground a few feet away. Matthew looked back at Gilbert and saw that he looked small, his arms wrapped tightly around his body. He was staring ahead at nothing, his white hair blowing slightly in the breeze. He looked so sad…

"Are you alright?" Matthew asked him quietly, unsure of what else to say.

Gilbert shook his head, "Nah, I don't think I'll be alright for a while…" His upper lip twitched slightly, and he placed his head in his hands.

"Hey Matthew?"

Matthew stared straight ahead into the black woods, seeing nothing ahead of him, but at the same time seeing everything in a different light. The warm breeze blew through Matthew's hair, carrying the faint sounds of the party with it.

"Yes?"

"Are you planning on going anywhere in the next, I don't know…thirty, forty minutes?"

"No, I don't think so…"

Gilbert shifted slightly, almost as if he were moving closer, his head still in his hands.

"…good."

And there, in the middle of the woods with someone he had once resented, Matthew sat next to Gilbert, hearing the quiet sniffle that came from him every so often and patiently waited as he watched the stars sparkle in the night sky. It was a new moon, and the stars couldn't have shined any brighter.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ohhhhh…man.**

**So I made this bucket list the other day, right?**

**And the first thing on it?**

**I want to eat a stick of butter before I die.**

**Enjoy chapter 12!**

Matthew didn't have a watch or cell phone on him, so he had no clue how much time had passed. He was betting they were nearing almost an hour of just sitting under the night sky when Gilbert finally raised he head and looked at him. He looked tired, making Matthew realized just how tired _he_ felt. And for a good reason too. The last few hour's events had taken a toll on both of them.

Gilbert didn't say anything. He just stared into Matthew's eyes for a few moments, and Matthew stared steadily back. For once, he didn't feel uncomfortable, just…calm.

Something about his eyes, how they weren't a complete red, but just off, with tints of pink in it. But it was beyond the color. Gilbert's eyes were filled with wonder and uncertainty. They were asking so many questions and he watched as Gilbert's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, before they relaxed again. Finally, he opened his mouth and asked just one question.

"Why did you stay with me?"

It was quiet, not a whisper, but it was so quiet, like he had never said it. Matthew watched Gilbert's lips barely move as the words came out, his eyes boring into him. His eyes traveled away from his lips back to Gilbert's eyes. He shrugged his shoulders, and the words came out of his mouth, just as quietly.

"Because you asked me to."

Matthew felt his cheeks burn slightly. Had he really just said that?

But Gilbert didn't seem to mind. He continued to stare back at him, apparently unaffected by the answer. Still they didn't break eye contact, and Matthew was struck with the odd impulse to suddenly reach forward and touch Gilbert. He didn't know why he wanted to, but he felt he had to. He had to see if this were real, if it was all really happening. As if his mind and body were two separate things, without looking away, he slowly reached forward with his one hand and closed the distance between them, his fingers coming to rest lightly on Gilbert's wrist. He could feel the fabric of the shirt and he gripped a small piece of it between his index finger and thumb. Gilbert's eyes traveled down and looked at his hand for a second before he looked back into Matthew's eyes.

Matthew wondered how long they sat like that. No words were exchanged. Everything was quiet around them, and he wondered if they were the only things left on the planet. It was an absurd thing to think, but that was the way it felt.

But the feeling didn't last forever, and Gilbert suddenly ripped his arm out of Matthew's grasp. Matthew wasn't holding on too tightly, and it made him jump.

"We should head back." Gilbert murmured, avoiding Matthew's gaze. He stood up and Matthew did the same, all the while trying to calm his racing heart. Hurrying after Gilbert, he just caught what he had asked him.

"Do you think you can stay the night at my house?"

Matthew was frustrated at the slow pace his brain was working at. He turned toward Gilbert. "Huh?"

"I'm too tired to drive you all the way home tonight anyway." Gilbert continued.

"Oh…okay."

When they finally made their way out of the woods, they were greeted with the sight of Ludwig and Vash sitting on the back patio, staring off into the forest. The party was still going on inside, and Matthew wondered how long they had really been gone. Apparently long enough, because when they finally came into full view, a very angry Vash stomped up toward them and Matthew felt himself cringe.

"What the hell, Gilbert?" Vash hissed, "Did you really find it necessary to pick a fight with Ivan and break one of the fucking tables? Oh yeah, the one with all the alcohol on it too?"

Matthew nervously looked toward Gilbert and saw that he was calmly staring back at Vash, the chiding apparently not affecting him.

"Do you have any idea how expensive that stuff was? What am I going to—"

"Vash, leave him alone." Ludwig said effectively sneaking up on them, causing Matthew and Vash to jump.

"How can I—"

"We'll come by tomorrow and help clean up." Ludwig cut him off, his tone full of authority, "But until now, I think you'd agree that we all, especially Gilbert, need some rest."

Vash and Ludwig stared at each other for a moment, but Vash looked away first.

"Fine, but Gilbert, if this _ever_ happens again…" He turned around and stomped back into the party.

When Vash was gone, Ludwig turned his attention toward Gilbert. They looked at each other for a moment, then Ludwig opened his mouth and said something. It completely threw Matthew off guard when he had no clue what he was saying, and he thought he was going crazy, until he realized that Ludwig was speaking German. His voice was deep, but you could hear the concern behind it. Gilbert lowered his eyes to the ground and also replied in German. He paused for a moment, and then said something else, and Matthew caught him saying his name in the sentence. Ludwig turned toward Matthew after this and looked at him as if he hadn't realized he had been standing there the whole time. He glanced away and said something else in German, his eyebrows raised. Gilbert shook his head and there was silence between them. Ludwig sighed, said something, then turned away and walked up toward the party.

"Come on." Gilbert said to Matthew. Matthew walked after him as they walked around the house. He figured that it was just so that they could avoid drawing any attention. They made it to the car and Gilbert took out his keys. Instead of unlocking the doors though, he paused for a moment, just staring down at his hands before he sighed loudly and leaned against the vehicle, and covering his eyes with his arm.

"…Gilbert?" Matthew's voice broke the silence as he stared at him concerned.

"…hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

Gilbert took his hand away from his face and righted himself. He unlocked the car door. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Matthew bit his lip. He felt like he had been talking to a complete stranger for the past hour. He wordlessly walked over to the passenger side and got into the car.

Neither spoke on the way back, and Matthew was content on just watching the road roll under them, lit by the headlights.

The ride wasn't long, and when they finally turned off to the road Gilbert's house was on, Matthew noticed that their driveway was normal, unlike the long winding one that Vash's house had. Three cars were parked on it already, and Gilbert pulled into the open space. When Gilbert killed the engine, he turned to Matthew.

"You're going to have to be quiet. My parents don't know that I'm bringing someone home."

Matthew felt his cheeks grow warm. The way Gilbert had _phrased_ that sentence…or maybe it was just Matthew thinking all wrong. He hoped that because it was dark out, Gilbert couldn't see him blush.

"Alright…"

Gilbert opened his door, and Matthew did the same. Quietly closing the door, he made his way over to Gilbert's side as they cautiously made their way up the front porch, and taking a deep breath, Gilbert opened the door slowly and peeked in. The inside of the house was different from Vash's, especially being the stairs where located right next to the door, giving easy access to sneak upstairs. Matthew had never done something like this before, and he kept thinking they were going to get caught for sure.

But they made it without any trouble. When Gilbert opened the door to his bedroom, Matthew shot into the room, leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath to calm his racing heart. He heard Gilbert chuckle quietly as he switched on the light to the bedroom.

"Wow, were you that scared?"

"Shut up." Matthew snapped and took a deep breath, "I've never done stuff like this before."

"Oh, but you've drank alcohol before." Gilbert said unsympathetically.

"That was because I thought it was root beer!" Matthew blurted out in frustration.

Gilbert's eyes widened at the statement, and his mouth dropped open. Matthew stared annoyed as his shock then wore off and he began laughing. (Quietly of course, but still, hysterically)

"Okay Gilbert, shut up." Matthew growled, turning away to hide his reddening face.

"N-no, you thought it was…it was root beer?" And once again, Gilbert was laughing again, clutching his stomach.

"Alright, yes I did! Just shut up about it, okay!" Matthew tried not to sound like he was whining.

Gilbert straightened up slightly, and he cleared his throat. He stopped laughing aside from the occasional, "You thought it was root beer…pffffft."

Matthew ignored Gilbert and looked over the bedroom. It was exceptionally tidy, aside from the pair of jeans carelessly thrown on the ground and what not. Matthew found that it was his turn to laugh when he noticed the poster hanging right above Gilbert's bed. Framed and everything…

"Oh. My. God." Matthew breathed out between laughs, "You have a framed poster of Nicki Minaj?"

Gilbert sniffed indignantly. "Of course I do. I told you before, she's my girl. Don't you insult her."

"Never said I was…" Matthew giggled and Gilbert huffed.

The laughing was like a nervous release for Matthew after how tense everything had been earlier. He was relieved that Gilbert was acting normal again, at least.

Gilbert walked passed him and opened a closet door.

"That's the bathroom." Gilbert said, pointing toward a door by the bed as he pulled a rolled up mattress and several blankets out of the closet. "Don't clog the toilet. I'll kick you out if you do."

"Oh, okay." Matthew rolled his eyes and watched Gilbert unroll the mattress on the floor next to the bed. He walked over and sat down on the bed.

"Do you need anything to wear?" Gilbert asked, and Matthew looked himself over. His clothing was slightly dirty from their little trek in the woods, and he felt a little gross and sweaty.

"Ummm…sure…" Matthew said, embarrassed.

Gilbert pointed to his clothes drawer. "The top two drawers are shirts and stuff. Just take some of that and change in the bathroom."

Matthew did as he was told and looked through the drawers until he settled on a pair of knee length shorts, and a plain white top. He went into the bathroom and hastily put on the of clothing.

"Where do I put my clothing…?" Matthew asked through the closed door.

"Just throw them in the corner, it doesn't matter."

Matthew did as he was told. Tossing the dirty clothes aside, he then looked at himself in the mirror. He was sweaty, and his face looked slightly ashen. He sighed and turned on the sink, rinsing off his face, and rinsing out his mouth the best he could, the bile tasting awful from when he had thrown up.

Once he was done, he turned the sink off and opened the door. Gilbert had changed into a white tanktop and a pair of black shorts. Matthew decided not to drop the comment that the tanktop and his skin were practically the same color. He couldn't help but grin slightly though.

Gilbert pointed to his bed. "You're sleeping there." Was all he said, and he began to lie down on the mattress located on the floor.

Matthew looked at the bed helplessly then back at Gilbert. "Hey, wait, I can't…"

"Why not?" Gilbert asked with his one eyebrow cocked. He was resting his head on his hand, his elbow propped on the floor.

"Because…you'll be sleeping on the floor…and stuff…and it's not fair to you…" Matthew said weakly.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just throw me a pillow from the bed."

Matthew chewed the inside part of his bottom lip, but complied and took a pillow and dropped it by Gilbert. He grabbed it and placed it under his head.

"Just turn off the light whenever you're ready to go to sleep." Gilbert murmured, and then he was silent. Matthew watched Gilbert's back as his breathing began to come slower, and he sighed. Hesitantly, he got up onto the bed and sat down on it, pulling his knees up to his chest. He felt like he was forgetting something, but he didn't know what it was. He looked down at Gilbert again then around the room, until his eyes finally came to rest on the Nicki Minaj poster. He couldn't help it, and his face broke out into a grin again.

"Gilbert…?" Matthew asked into the silence and got no reply. He was already asleep.

Matthew sighed and pulled back the sheets and slid under the cover. The bed was surprisingly comfortable, and it took all of his energy to reach over and turn off the light before his head hit the pillow and he was asleep.

**Yes, short and pointless. I'm sorry guys.**

**BUT THERE WAS CHEMISTRY BETWEEN MATT AND GIL. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT. YEAH.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**HOLY FREAK.**

**I JUST REALIZED **

**I'M GOING TO BE SIXTEEN **

**IN EIGHT FRICKIN' DAYS.**

**OMGOMGOMG**

**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT.**

**Enjoy chapter 13!**

When Matthew was in fifth grade, he learned a new word at school. Epiphany; when something is suddenly realized, or when someone is given a sudden moment of clarity. He loved that word so much that everywhere he went, when he finally figured something out, he would say out loud, "I just had an epiphany!"

Of course, Now that he was older, he didn't use the word all the time anymore, but right at that moment as he opened his eyes and stared at the bedroom that was so not his bedroom, felt around in the bed that was also not his bed, and remembered the events from the night before, he had a little epiphany of his own right then.

"Shit." He said, none too quietly. He bolted out of the bed, tossing aside the sheets, and ran toward the door.

Or at least, that's what he attempted to do.

His plan was thwarted as he tried to get out of the bed. His foot kicked at a bundled mass on the floor, and he tripped, falling face first into the carpet.

"Ow, _fuck_!" The muffled, very tired voice of Gilbert came from beneath the blankets.

Matthew covered his mouth in shock, his eyes very wide.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Matthew yelped out as he tried to move himself off of Gilbert.

"My dick, you're on my dick!" Gilbert's voice sounded _very_ strained.

Matthew squeaked when he realized _that_ was the soft thing he currently had his hand over and was leaning all of his weight on.

Second epiphany of the day.

None too gracefully, he managed to roll off of Gilbert and both lay very still, each trying to steady their breathing for different reasons.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Matthew began rambling frantically. "I didn't realize, and I forgot that you were sleeping on the ground, and then when I woke up, I remembered something really important, and—"

"Kid, it's fine." Gilbert said, sounding not fine at all, "Just shut the fuck up for one second, alright?"

Matthew complied and hid his face in embarrassment. He wished he could melt into the floor right there and just disappear.

After a moment of awkward silence, he heard Gilbert take a deep breath. "Okay, you said that you remembered something really important?"

Matthew shrugged his shoulders miserably, "I remembered that I forgo—"

"Take your hands away from your face, I can't hear you."

Matthew took his hands away and snapped out, "I said, I remembered that I forgot to call Alfred to tell him where I was going to be!"

Gilbert's reaction definitely left much to be desired. He stared at Matthew for a second, shrugged, and then replied, "Okay, so you can call him now, right?"

"That's not the point! I'm saying that I forgot to call him last night!"

"Well, still, he shouldn't worry, should he? I mean, most people don't even leave parties until around ten in the morning anyway."

"No, you don't get it! Alfred coming home at ten in the morning with a hangover? Normal. Me coming home at ten in the morning with a hangover, _not_ normal!" Matthew glanced toward Gilbert's alarm clock, and his heart sank, "Especially when it's one in the afternoon!"

Gilbert stared at him for a moment, as if processing at the information, then he raked a hand through his hair.

"Well, you're making my hangover worse, I'll tell you that." Was all he said.

Matthew stared at him hopelessly and watched him get up off the floor, and then begin walking toward the door. "Didn't you hear anything I said?"

"Yeah, I heard you. Just let me eat something and take some aspirin, and I'll be able to take you home. Do you want something to eat?"

Matthew hesitated, thrown by the sudden change of topic. "Um…but your parents…"

"They both go out on Sundays. Come downstairs whenever you're ready."

Gilbert left the room, and Matthew sat on the floor, left to revel in his own terror.

He was so dead.

He was beyond dead.

He was _dead_ dead.

Matthew was sure Alfred was worried about him. And he didn't really blame him. After all, the last time he was seen Matthew, he had been hurling his guts out in a pair of rhododendrons at Vash's party before disappearing into the forest. Not to mention, if he had called their parents…

He feared their reactions, and tried to calm himself down, hoping that Alfred was going to be sensible about this.

Of course, Matthew had a lot of blame on his shoulders. He thought that the latest he was going to get home from any party would be around midnight, and yet here he was, in someone else's bedroom, wearing their clothing, and slowly trying to piece together last night's events at one in the afternoon.

Sighing, and feeling very sorry for himself, Matthew stood up and made his way down the stairs. Now that the sun was shining in through the windows, he decided to look around the house. The living room was rather spacious, with a couch located by the front door, and a TV against the wall, not nearly as big as the one he had at his house. The living room was connected with the dining room, where a table sat with four seats around it. A large window took up most of the wall, and Matthew could see a rather large field that just bordered the forest. He assumed that this was their backyard. A large picture frame on the wall made the curiosity perk inside of him, and he walked over to it. Four people were in the picture, and Matthew instantly recognized Gilbert and Ludwig. Both looked younger, Gilbert looking at if he were Matthew's age, and Ludwig looking to be about fourteen or fifteen. Even then, Ludwig's had a very diligent look on his face, and his hair was slicked back, his hands folded in front of him. You could hardly tell that he was smiling, with only the smallest hint of his lips turned up at the corners. Gilbert stood right next to him, and even though his hair wasn't slicked back, you could tell that it had been combed over, giving him a very neat appearance. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a tie, just like Ludwig, but instead he was beaming in the picture. Matthew felt himself grow very warm when he thought this, but he looked rather…handsome…

"What're you doing?" Gilbert's voice made Matthew jump nearly three feet into the air. He looked over at the present Gilbert, who was wearing a very ragged tank top, shorts, and his hair sticking up in a thousand different directions. He was leaning against the wall watching Matthew, a Pop tart sticking out of his mouth, making his voice very muffled.

"Nothing, just looking at this picture..." Matthew breathed out, and then turned back to the photo, "When was this taken?"

Gilbert took the Pop tart out of his mouth and walked up next to Matthew. "Oh, that was…two years ago? I think."

"Hmm…" Matthew nodded. "You know, you look so much better there than you do now."

"Yeah, well that was the last time I ever agreed to let anyone dress me up, so you won't see any of that again anytime soon."

Matthew tilted his head and pointed toward the woman in the picture. "Is that your mom?"

Gilbert snorted, "Duh. Who else would it be?"

Matthew rolled his eyes, his finger still lingering in mid air. "She's very…pretty."

A woman with long dark blonde hair that curled at the ends smiled at Matthew through the picture frame. She looked tiny, almost fragile, compared to the three large men standing around her, but her sparkling green eyes begged to differ. The man standing next to her had brown hair and hazel eyes, and his smile rivaled hers. Matthew knew this was their father, he remembered seeing him the day Gilbert graduated from high school.

"Ludwig got his looks from our grandfather. It was that whole 'genes skipped a generation' thing that went down." Gilbert said randomly as he took another bite out of his Pop tart. Matthew continued to stare at the picture. Ludwig's whole figure resembled his father. Both were tall and muscular. If it weren't for their father's mustache, they would have looked exactly the same. But Gilbert…

"You look a lot like your mother…"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, looked at the picture, squinted, then looked at Matthew.  
"What?"

"Well, not looks wise…" Matthew said slowly, not knowing how to say it exactly. "I mean that your…smile…it looks the same."

Gilbert looked at the picture for a moment, shrugged, then nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess so…" He shoved the rest of the pastry into his mouth then looked at Matthew, "Do you want anything to eat?"

Matthew shook his head, "No…I'm not that hungry."

"Then, are you ready to go?"

Matthew looked at Gilbert confused for a moment, "Huh?"

"You know, for you to go home? You were yapping about how important it was earlier." Gilbert said with an exasperated look.

"Oh." Matthew said. "I thought you meant something else…"

"You always think I mean something else…" Gilbert said with a smirk on his face.

Matthew blushed, "No, not like that!"

"Whatever…" Gilbert said as he began to walk toward the door.

"Gilbert!" He growled threateningly, but Gilbert only laughed as Matthew stomped after him out the door.

* * *

Gilbert's parents had taken the large car with them, so Gilbert had to drive him home in one of the smaller cars. It went rather well, even Gilbert commenting that it was easier for him to drive on the road again than it was before.

As Matthew waved after him as he drove away, Matthew stood in front of his house, a scared look on his face. Here he was, just gotten out of bed, standing in the high class neighborhood looking like some bum in his three sizes too big clothing, and messy hair. He wasn't surprised that he probably smelled just like some homeless person also. Matthew realized as they were halfway home that he had forgotten to bring his own clothing, and Gilbert told him not to worry about it. He said he would wash the clothing, and Matthew was surprised at the act of kindness behind the words.

But now, his only plan was to sneak into the backyard and hopefully go in through the back door unnoticed and make it upstairs to change out of the clothing into some of his own and hopefully somehow, if there was any God up there, make it seem like he had been home all along.

Of course, the plan didn't make it past him sneaking in through the backdoor, because standing in the kitchen with his arms crossed and shooting him the meanest glare possible was his brother, Alfred.

"H-hey Alfred…"

"Matthew, where have you been?"

The words that came out of Alfred's mouth had so much anger in them, it made Matthew wince.

"Uh, I was just…"

"Do you have any fucking idea how worried I was? And who the fuck was that in the car just now?" Alfred hissed venomously.

"Uh…I…" Matthew stuttered miserably and saw that Alfred did look worried, beneath all of that anger.

"And what's more, what the hell was that last night? What were you doing at that party?"

"A-Alfred, please calm down…" Matthew gasped out, trying to speak, but being given no time to.

"Why should I?" Alfred snapped, "When was the last time I saw you at some party, then the last thing I see is you running off into the woods, of all places, and you don't even return home until two in the afternoon in someone's car, and wearing someone's clothing that isn't even yours?"

Matthew bit his lip and lowered his head. He knew Alfred had every reason to be mad at him.

"You're lucky I decided to hold out on you, I was this close to calling our parents." Alfred indicated by holding up his hand for a second with his finger just an inch apart.

Silence followed Alfred's statement for a moment, then Matthew took a deep breath, and began rambling so fast, his words seemed to blend together.

"Alfred, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this at all. Last night I decided to go to a party because Gilbert invited me, and then a lot of things happened, and it ended up being too late for him to drive me home, and so I slept over at his place, and he just drove me home now, and he leant me his clothes, because mine were all dirty, and had I known all this stuff was going to happen, I definitely wouldn't have gone to the party, and not to mention, I completely forgot to call you, and I _knew_ I was forgetting something, but I couldn't remember what it was and—"

"Wait, whoa, whoa. Slow. Down." Alfred said, his hands held up and Matthew stopped. "Gilbert…who?"

"Uh…G-Gilbert Beilschmidt…" Matthew said quietly, not liking the fact at all that Alfred was giving him nearly the same look Ivan had last night when he had said his name.

Alfred sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. "Shit…of all people…why the hell are you hanging out with someone like him?"

"I…what?" Matthew said, completely thrown off guard by the question.

"Matthew, I've seen him at parties, he's a fucking douche bag. Was he the one that invited you to the party with him?"

Matthew opened his mouth to reply, and suddenly the images of the defeated, sad looking Gilbert from last night filled his mind. His looked away as he quietly answered, "He's not always like that…"

"Mattie, I've _seen_ him. He's done shit before that could have gotten us all into trouble, but he only cared about what happened to himself."

"What? T-that's not true!" Matthew blurted out. He really wanted to stop for a moment and wonder why he was defending Gilbert. Just weeks earlier, he would have been happy that his brother was talking so hatefully about him, but now he only felt frustrated that Alfred hadn't been there to see Gilbert talk so wistfully about how much he wanted to see his friends again. Matthew admitted Gilbert was hot headed, extremely rude, conceited, and basically everything negative you could find in a person. But…

But…

"Mattie, why are you doing this?" Alfred asked, also sounding frustrated. "Of all the people that you pick to be your friend, you decide it should be him? And look at yourself! You're a fucking mess! Already you're doing things you've never done before! And you left me here thinking that something really awful happened to you, all because you forgot to call? It wouldn't have been that hard for you to at least borrow someone's phone and call my cell phone."

"No! It's not like that…" Matthew blurted out, his voice raising. "I just…stuff happened…and then I forgot, and I feel really bad, but it wasn't Gilbert's fault. Please believe me Alfred, it was my entire fault. I was the one that completely forgot and made a really stupid decision…"

Matthew looked down and played with the drawstrings on his shorts. After a moment, Alfred's voice broke the silence, considerably softer.

"Matthew, I…I'm sorry. It's just that I don't think you should be friends with Gilbert…I mean, with your condition…"

Matthew looked up sharply. "What?" he snapped, "Because of my…condition? _That's_ what you're worried about?"

Alfred's eyes shifted slightly, as if realizing what he said was a mistake.

"Well, no, I mean, yes, it's just—"

"Alfred, I'm not some special case! Maybe I _was_ going to the party with Gilbert just so that I could get used to the way things were before I became like this, and maybe I'm trying to get over this, despite what you might think is the right way to do it. You have no _clue_ what it's like living like this, and it's not like I'm different from anyone else on the outside!"

Matthew raked his teeth over his lower lip and sighed frustrated.

"I'm sorry …I just had a long night…" He looked up at Alfred, knowing he only looking out for him. He walked passed him, ignoring his hesitant, "Wait," and made his way up the stairs.

When he reached his bedroom, he walked in, slowly closed the door and leaned against it. He closed his eyes and willed himself to forget everything that had just happened. Later he would apologize to Alfred, but for now he just wanted to take a shower and get some sleep that didn't feel so irregular. Opening his eyes, he noticed a red light on his phone was flashing, showing that he had a new message on his answering machine. Walking over, he turned it on.

_Hello, Matthew this is Tino Väinämöinen_ _from the Coffee shop. I was looking over your resume and out of the people I interviewed, I think I'd like to give you a chance at the job. Please call me back at this number if you're interested. I think it would be great working with you. Thank you._

Matthew stared wide eyed at the answering machine. Now _this_ was definitely not what he had been expecting.

**-takes a deep breath and exhales yoga style- Ahhh…Chapter 13, my favorite number…**

**Yes, Gilbert and Ludwig's grandfather is indeed Frederich II. **

**Grrr. I lost my thumbdrive, and now I have to use this lame-oh excuse of a file…transfer…thing.**

**Maroon 5 – Pure Imagination. I can't get that song out of my heeeeeeaaaaadddddd.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**YEEEEEEEE.**

**Thank you all for reading the story so far! You're all so great! I adore each and every single one of your reviews! **

**Enjoy Chapter 14, which will hopefully be longer than the last few chapters ;(**

The first time the phone rang on Friday morning, Matthew ignored it, rolling over so that he was facing the wall. The second time the phone had rung, he pulled the blanket over his head, muffling the noise. It rang a third time, and Matthew began to grind his teeth. If the call was really that important, then they would leave a message. He knew it was probably for his parents anyway.

It was when the person called a fourth time that Matthew threw aside the blanket in unrestrained frustration and reached over toward his phone. He looked at the caller ID, and huffed when it came up as an unrecognizable number. He'd just have to tell the person that his parents weren't home, and they would have to deal with it.

"Hello?" He said quietly into the phone, his voice cracking with sleep.

"_Good morning, may I speak to sleeping beauty, Oh wait, I mean Matthew?"_

"…" Matthew closed his eyes and his head hit his pillow. No. NO. It was too early in the morning to deal with this cretin. Surely he was dreaming.

"Gilbert?" He said, his voice still monotone as sleep tugged at his brain.

"_Yes, that would be I. Man, doesn't anyone else live in your house? I thought for a second that maybe your brother was going to answer instead of you, and man, _that_ would be awkward."_

"Wha…" Matthew said mid-yawn, "Alfred's at work…"

Matthew knew this because all he'd seen lately was Alfred parading around in just his red swim trunks with LIFEGUARD written in big white letters up the leg. Matthew could have died when he saw the pride and pure excitement written across his brother's face.

Oh, but it wasn't because of the job. Oh no.

It was because of the swimming trunks.

Alfred adored the color red. Along with white and blue. Matthew had no idea why. Maybe Alfred went out for the job just so that he could wear red for an eight hour shift and look good in it.

"_Ohhh, I see. And why the hell aren't you working, may I ask?"_

Despite the fact that Matthew had just received a rude awakening, he couldn't help but grin. "Actually, speaking of which, I got hired at the cafe."

"_Hey, did I not say you would get the job? Man, I'm always right, I'm like…a fucking psychic, you know?"_

Matthew laughed slightly. "Yeah, okay. Because you're psychic."

"_So…"_ Gilbert continued, _"When's your first day?"_

"Actually, I started on Tuesday."

"_Oh, sweet. What do you do?"_

"Nothing really interesting. I make the drinks and stuff." But in reality, Matthew loved it. When Matthew had met up with Tino, they had discussed some things. For starters, he found out that Tino was actually thirty-one, which surprised Matthew greatly. He had thought Tino was a lot younger, because of the way he talked, and the general niceness about him. But, in a way it made sense. After all, it was highly unlikely that a twenty-one year old would own a café.

Another thing was that he was going to start Matthew out by simply having him make the drinks, and Tino himself would work the register. He was a kind and understanding person, telling Matthew that when he finally had the courage to work up front with the people, he would let him. Matthew had been touched that someone hadn't overlooked his rather shy nature, and instead worked with him on it.

He also told Matthew that he was going to hire some more people around his age to work the shift with him, so he shouldn't be too surprised whenever he was going to work with someone that he went to school with.

Once they had gotten past all of that, Tino had shown Matthew the different sandwiches and dessert-like treats that they sold, along with how to make the various drinks. It turned out for Matthew that the job was actually a lot more fun than he had expected.

"_When do you work?"_ Gilbert's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I work every weekday, noon to four, and on Saturdays I work in the evening."

"_Alright, _awesome_. So that means you're not working right now until the afternoon?"_ Gilbert's voice came through the phone sounding rather excited, and Matthew felt curious.

"No…Why?"

"_Shortie, I am sitting at my dad's mechanic shop right now. Which is, you know…"_ He trailed off casually, _"near the mall and everything…"_

"Why? Are we going to be shoplifting or something?"

"_Well, wasn't really thinking of that, but if you really want to, we can do that too. Anyway, why don't you come out here? There's something I want to tell you, via in person."_

_Who even used the word 'via'?_ Matthew sighed and stared at his alarm clock. It was now nine in the morning. How Gilbert managed to be so awake was beyond him.

"Well, I do have to pick up my new glasses…" Matthew had an eye appointment several weeks ago, since he was due for new glasses, and several nights ago they had called saying that they were ready for him to pick up.

"_Great. Do you think you can be here in twenty minutes?"_

"Probably…I don't know…" Matthew said, kicking his legs over the edge and standing up.

"_Well, get here fast. I'll be waiting on the west entrance. You'll see me standing out in front of the mall. My sexy is not hard to miss."_

Matthew made a face and silently imitated his final sentence. "Okay, whatever."

"_Alright princess, be good! I'll be waiting!"_

"Mhm…bye." And without even waiting for a reply, Matthew hung up the phone and threw it on the bed. Stretching his arms above his head, he pulled out the first pair of clothing he could find and walked out the door. He really couldn't help but wonder why Gilbert had sounded so excited. Matthew was beginning to think that whatever made Gilbert excited definitely wasn't a good thing.

The last time he had seen Gilbert was on Sunday, which had been five days ago. Matthew told the small voice in his brain to shut up when it pitifully squeaked that it had been boring and lonely sense then. He mentally listed all the things that he had gotten himself pulled into by Gilbert.

There was that time that they had discreetly painted a whole school…

Not to mention partying at somebody's house that you hardly knew, throwing up in their bushes, and then running off into the woods…

Only to return the next day to a very angry brother waiting for you, demanding you tell him where you were…

And that fight between Ivan and Gilbert…

Matthew's eyebrows scrunched up as he tried to remember what had happened exactly. Maybe it was the alcohol he had consumed since his mind seemed to give him vague details. It was hazy. All he knew was that he had been talking to Ivan one second, and then Gilbert was standing in between them. They had said a few things to each other, until Gilbert said something that made Ivan (literally) send him flying.

He had thought that maybe when he went to hockey practice on Thursday that Ivan would be angry at him or give him the cold shoulder, but things had been the same between the two of them. He decided that now or anytime soon wouldn't be the best time to bring it up to them.

But he couldn't help but wonder _why_ they hated each other so much.

Matthew pulled into the mall parking lot, and couldn't help but laugh when he noticed that Gilbert had been right. He really wasn't that hard to miss. His white hair really stood out. Gilbert was leaning against the wall in looking in the opposite direction, obviously not knowing he was there yet. He beeped the car horn twice, and Gilbert looked over, a grin slowly spreading on his face. By the time Matthew pulled into a parking space, he was already limping up to the car.

When Matthew stepped out of the car, he gave one look toward Gilbert's knee then looked up at his grinning face.

"You know, how long are you going to wear that thing?" He asked looking up at Gilbert and squinting as the sun was already shining brightly despite it being so early in the morning.

Gilbert shrugged and looked down at the brace as if noticing it for the first time, "Until it stops hurting?

Matthew closed the car door. "You know something? I can't imagine you walking normally."

"Really? Well, maybe because I might never walk normally again. Because the doctors said it might be _permanent_."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Are you being serious?"

"Of course I am. Would I lie about something like that?"

"Yes, yes you would."

Gilbert laughed slightly. "Oh, _okay_. But yeah, if my knee doesn't heal by the end of the summer, I have to get surgery on it."

"Oh…" Matthew said quietly and lowered his head. "I'm sorry…"

Gilbert looked at him a moment then snorted. "Look, it's my knee, and I could give a shit otherwise. It's not like I'm going to use it for anything important anytime soon, so don't worry about it."

Matthew sighed, "Yeah, but—"

"I said _don't_. And besides, what happened to you and your brother on Sunday?"

"Oh…" Matthew trailed off, playing with the car keys, "Um…we kind of fought and…stuff…"

"Okay, and what else?"

"Nothing really, it's just a little awkward between the both of us."

"Ohhh, is he still mad at you?"

"No, uh…he _was_, but then I kind of got mad at him?"

"Wow, you have a fire burning in you, don't cha?"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"You know what it means. What did you get mad at him about?"

"Uh…" Matthew looked away, and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "He kind of…brought something up…"

Matthew hoped that Gilbert would catch on that he didn't want to be pressed about the subject, and he saw Gilbert give him a weird look, but thankfully, he didn't say anything.

Matthew pulled open the doors and walked into the mall, taking in all of the stores surrounding the plaza. The mall was pretty empty since it was so early, save for the few people milling around.

"You have to pick up your glasses, don't you?" Gilbert asked him, his tone slightly distracted as he watched a pair of college age looking girls walk pass them.

Matthew rolled his eyes as Gilbert caught the one girl's attention and smirked at her. She raised an eyebrow and smirked back and as she was walking away, she put more of her hips into her walk, giving Gilbert a better 'view'.

"Yes."

Gilbert continued to watch the girl as she walked out of the mall, then he turned toward Matthew. "What did you say?"

"I said _yes_, Gilbert."

"Oh…" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Matthew gave him a look. "Am I sure about _what_?"

Gilbert continued, his tone very serious. "Because if you _are_ sure, I mean, this is a huge step for the both of us. Are you sure you're ready to say yes to sex—"

"Oh my God, Gilbert! Yes to the glasses! I said yes about the glasses!" Matthew hissed as he felt his face growing warm, and he turned away, stomping off toward the store. He heard Gilbert laugh at him as he followed.

"Awww, man…you're too much fun to tease."

Matthew's eyes widened. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

"Yeah, you're really funny, Gilbert."

"Of course I am. And of course, who could ever resist these amazingly good looks to go along with it?"

Matthew sighed loudly. He walked into the store and turned toward Gilbert, stabbing a finger at his chest. "You. Wait over there." He pointed toward the area in the store where people waited and sat in the chairs.  
Gilbert smirked at him, and Matthew turned away to hide his blush. There was no way this guy was going to get the better of him.

As he walked up to the front desk and give them his information, he turned around and watched that Gilbert was in fact, not listening to him, and was milling aimlessly around the store, picking the sample glasses up, looking at them, then putting them down. Gilbert noticed him staring, gave him a grin and waved at him. Matthew rolled his eyes and turned away to pick up the bag the woman at the desk handed to him. He thanked her, and walked up to Gilbert.

"If you keep touching all of their glasses, they're going to have to throw them out. You're getting your jerkacules all over them."

"Mhm…" Gilbert picked up a pair of square framed glasses that were black and put them on. "How do I look?"

Matthew hated to admit the truth, but Gilbert actually looked really _really_ nice in them. "You look…smart." He sniffed, trying to sound like he wasn't being truthful.

Gilbert took the glasses off and placed them back before he turned around and started walking out of the store.

"I'm actually supposed to be wearing glasses."

This was new. He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"

Gilbert kept walking, but turned to Matthew and pointed to his eye. "I have astigmatism."

"Oh…I didn't know that." Matthew said surprised.

Gilbert shrugged, "Yeah, but other than that, I can see fine, so I've never really wanted to wear glasses."

Matthew continued to stare at Gilbert, who turned to him and gave him a look. "What?"

"I don't know…it's just the fact that if you actually wore glasses, you'd look more serious."

"Yeah, and if you didn't wear glasses, maybe you'd look less like a girl."

Matthew huffed. "You know what? Do you actually hang out with anyone other than me?"

"I don't know. Do _you_ hang out with anyone other than me?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Here, now that you got your bifocals, we can prance on over to the food court and eat some pretzels. You want a pretzel? Because _I_ want a pretzel." Gilbert continued as if Matthew hadn't spoken in the first place.

Matthew opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again and gave a small begrudged, "Fine."

When they reached the food court (Of course, they didn't prance over to it, like Gilbert said they would.) Gilbert told Matthew to sit down as he went to get the food. He gave Matthew no time to talk at all. So Matthew was sitting at a table as he watched Gilbert stand in line. He looked away and opened the bag that the people at the store had given him. Inside were two pairs of glasses in their cases, and a year's worth supply of contacts. He sighed as he looked at the contacts. His parents ordered both he and Alfred contacts along with their glasses so that they had two options. Even though Alfred wore contacts more often than glasses, Matthew couldn't bring himself to do the same. He felt weird without glasses on, like they were a barrier. He threw the contacts back in the bag and took out the glasses.

"Why do you have two pairs?" Gilbert asked him as he walked back up, shoving a soft pretzel into Matthew face, and taking a vicious bite out of his own.

"When we ordered them, it was that whole, buy two get one half price kind of thing." Matthew explained as he took the pretzel from Gilbert.

Gilbert chewed on his pretzel a second then made a 'hmn' sound and sat down in the other chair.

"Alright, now I can finally talk to you about what I was going to talk to you about earlier, but I couldn't because we had to pick up your glasses." Gilbert said as he took another bite out of his pretzel. Matthew nibbled on his slightly as he silently wondered how he got himself dragged into these things.

"Now, as we both know, our main concern for these past few weeks was wondering where in the world Antonio was. We had found Francis with ease, and now we're on the second level. This is going to be harder, I can just _feel_ it."

Matthew couldn't help but grin as Gilbert talked with a jokingly serious gleam in his eye. Gilbert caught his grin, and returned it with a smirk.

"You sound excited." Matthew couldn't help but admit.

"I _am_ excited." Gilbert said, not bothering to hide the anticipation on his face.

"So…what's your plan?"

"My plan is that, actually, I don't have a plan."

Matthew stopped chewing on his pretzel and stared at Gilbert.

"Wait. You call me at nine in the morning, making me think that you're going to tell me something really important, and instead you're telling me that you don't have a plan." Matthew said tonelessly.

"Well, I don't have a plan, and unless you've got one, you should speak up now. I mean, I have no idea how to get Antonio's number from where he lives now, and his parents won't give it to me. And I have no leads on where he lives or anything. The only clue is that he goes to Penns Marion. The school is significantly smaller than ours, so—"

"Don't tell me," Matthew held up a hand, "that we're going to go to Penn county (People that lived in that area went to Penns Marion High School) and we're going to look for him?"

Gilbert grinned.

"It'll be like finding Waldo. Besides, it's not like you're super busy on Sundays anyway to begin with."

Matthew blushed, knowing he was talking about the night after the party.

"But why do you want me of all people to do this with you?"

Gilbert's face grew serious and he stared at Matthew. He was silent for a moment, before he looked down and quietly said, "Because you've helped me so much already..."

Matthew's eyes widened. The picture of Gilbert looking so angry, scared, and desperate at the same time came into his head.

"…Fine." Matthew sighed.

Gilbert's face broke into a grin again. "Awesome." He stood up and threw away the pretzel wrapper, now empty. "I need to get back to my dad's place. I kind of, sort of left without him knowing."

Matthew stood up also. "Alright, I'll see you on Sunday, I guess." He turned around to leave.

"Oh yeah, and shortie?"

Matthew turned around and looked at Gilbert, "I'll be driving this time."

Matthew grimaced, remembering things he would have rather forgotten. "Great."

Gilbert laughed at Matthew's tone, then turned around, giving him one final wave before he left.

When Matthew got into his car, he leaned back in the seat and took a bite out of his half finished pretzel. He watched as Gilbert walked out a moment later and crossed the mall parking lot toward the auto-mechanic shop.


	15. Chapter 15

**ARRR! Ye scally wags be readin' up on thee enchanted scroll.**

**What be in store for ye scurvy dogs in this chapter, aye?**

**Enjoy ye mateys! Yar har har.**

"Oh my God…" Matthew pressed his forehead against the window and stared lifelessly out into the distance. He could see the heat rising off of the endless pavement in waves.

"Shut uuuupppp." Gilbert groaned.

"Why?" Matthew said miserably, "Just…why?"

"You know I didn't plan for this to happen…" Gilbert grumbled.

"Yeah, you didn't really plan anything anyway." Matthew snapped as he turned on the air conditioning.

"Shut uppp." Gilbert groaned louder.

"Maybe I'm seeing things…" Matthew said dryly. His whole body was begging for water. "But I think the cars are moving…a little…"

"Noooo…" Gilbert said, sounding like he was on the brink of death, "You're seeing things…"

"This is your fault." Matthew grumbled as he wiped away some of the sweat on the back of his neck. If only he hadn't worn jeans. And he just had to be sitting in the passenger side, where all the sun was shining in.

It was now Sunday. Gilbert had picked Matthew up at noon, and their initial plan was to get to Penn County and find Antonio. And everything was going smoothly until they got caught in a traffic jam. They hadn't moved from the same spot for nearly ten minutes, but by the way they were acting, it sounded like hours.

"Ohh…" Matthew looked listlessly at the dashboard of Gilbert's (or his parent's car anyway, as he had informed Matthew), "Your car tells you how hot it is outside…"

"How hot…?" Gilbert said, his voice sounding like he was about to pass out.

"Ninety-five degrees…"

"Motherfuck…" Gilbert ran his hands down his face.

"Look at it on the bright side," Matthew said meekly, "If you turn the numbers around it's really fifty-nine degrees."

"…it's not working." Gilbert said after a moment of silence.

"I don't care…" Matthew whined and turned off the air conditioning. Now he had remembered why they didn't have it turned on in the first place, it was only blowing in hot air. They _had_ to get driving, pronto.

"I bet the two of us are going to be in the newspapers. _Two teenagers found dead in car from heat stroke and inhaling exhaust fumes from their idling car_." Gilbert said, raising his hands into the air and spreading them apart as if he were displaying a headline.

Matthew groaned in agreement and tried to move his legs out of the suns direct light.

"Open a window or something…"

"You open a window…"

"You're…you're…whatever." Matthew groaned as he pushed his hair away from his face.

"Are the cars moving yet?"

"Ummm…no…YES. They are."

Gilbert instantly sat up and stared out the windshield. "Holy shit, they actually are." Without hesitating, and no longer moving with the slowness of somebody that was acting dehydrated, Gilbert put the car into drive and slowly, they began moving forward.

"I think…" Matthew said happily, "I think we're going to make it…"

"Don't get your hopes up…Oh my God, I think we're going to make it."

And make it, they did. Once they passed the reason for the traffic jam (Typical construction work on the highway, always an inconvenience at the wrong times) and onto the freeway, Matthew and Gilbert threw up their hands (Or hand in Gilbert's case, since he was still driving with the other one) into the air and cheered victoriously. Matthew sighed in relief and sat back in his seat, relishing the feeling of the wind blowing in from the open window.

"You know, now that I think about it…" Gilbert began, "How did you manage to get away from your brother?"

Matthew had filled Gilbert in that one of the reasons Alfred had been so mad at him was because he had been hanging out with him. Basically, he had been dropping hints that Alfred didn't like him too much.

And Matthew wasn't all too surprised when Gilbert's answer to learning this bit of information was to simply reply, "He's just jealous. He wishes he were me. Hell, he wishes he were _with_ me."

"I told him I was going to work…" Matthew sighed. Lately, everytime he tried to leave the house, Alfred would casually ask him where he was going, as if he weren't really interested, but both brothers knew otherwise. It didn't really bother Matthew since he knew where his brother was coming from, but at the same time, he really wished Alfred would just stop. But the fact was, today he had lied to Alfred about where he was going, and he was sure it wasn't going to be the last.

"Wow, what if he decides to stop by and visit the café to say 'hi' to his favorite brother?"

"I'm his _only_ brother. And besides, he's too lazy to do something like that." Matthew said the final line mostly to reassure himself.

"Are you sure about that?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." Matthew snapped. Gilbert shrugged and changed the subject.

"You know, do you have a cell phone?"

"No…"

"Why not?"

"Because, I'd never use it."

"Why? Am I your only friend?" Gilbert teased.

"No. You're not." Matthew replied tersely.

"Oh, really? Then name one friend that you've hung out with, besides me of course, since summer began."

"…you're a jerk."

"Oh yes. I know, believe me, I know." Gilbert smirked.

"Well, name one friend you've hung out, besides me," Matthew mocked at Gilbert, "with since summer began."

"That would be easy. You"

Matthew chewed his inner lip nervously. Did Gilbert really consider the both of them friends? For most people, they would have said yes, but Matthew was still hesitant, even after all of the time they spent together.

"Well, I'm still curious to know why you never seem to hang out with anyone else." Matthew said casually, messing with the switch that made the car window go up and down.

"Kid, weren't you even listening to me before? What friends do I have to hang out with when all of mine got sent away?"

"Well, I mean…" Matthew trailed off, thinking of the right words to say, "I mean, it's just that you're always surrounded by people whenever I would see you in school…"

"Even if I am popular," Gilbert interrupted, "It doesn't mean that I have a lot of friends."

Matthew glanced at Gilbert confused until he spoke again. "Look kid. I might know a lot of people, and I _know_ that a hell of a lot of people know me. But the thing is that they're all just…boring."

Matthew chewed on this for a moment, then, "Well, _I'm_ boring…" he said quietly. Because, jeez. If all these A-list party-goers were really considered boring to Gilbert, then Matthew may as well be a garbage can lid.

Gilbert gave him an amused look before looking back at the road.

"You'd be surprised."

Matthew only shrugged at the statement and looked out the window.

"No, really. I mean, even if you haven't seen it yourself yet, you'll be in for a big surprise. I mean, I know I noticed because I'm just cool like that."

Matthew turned to Gilbert with a grin on his face. "I'm going to start counting how many times you say 'I' in a sentence."

"Why would you do something lame like that?" Gilbert said, returning once again to his usual jack-ass self.

"Because it's so self-centered. Sometimes you talk like you are your own universe."

"Well…maybe _I am_." Gilbert said making his voice sound dramatic.

Matthew bit his lip to keep himself from smiling, but his lips turned up at the corners anyway. It had been a while since his body hadn't listened to his mind's commands. Gilbert saw him smiling and returned it with his own. Matthew noticed that when he smiled, he looked so much more attractive than when he did his usual smirking business.

Wait.

WHAT?

Did he _really_ just think that? He couldn't have possibly just thought that Gilbert was attractive, but—Matthew gasped—he did. HE JUST DID.

Matthew turned away, his face reddening. There was an awkward silence between the both of them, that Matthew was sure he was the cause of.

"…It's really hot." Was all he could say to break the silence.

"Oh, really?" Gilbert said sarcastically, unknown to Matthew that his face was just as red.

* * *

"You know, I'm beginning to wonder how sure of yourself you are." Matthew said later as both he and Gilbert sat on the hood of his car. They had finally entered Penn county just minutes after and Gilbert had quickly driven through the town telling Matthew to keep a look out for anyone that even looked like Antonio.

"Even if it's a girl?" Matthew joked slightly.

"Yes. Even then. Because you never know."

Gilbert had been right. Penn County really was a lot smaller than the city they lived in, so driving through it only took about ten minutes. But even after two close calls, (One of which was indeed a girl, and Matthew realized then that Gilbert hadn't been joking about the whole 'even if it was a girl' thing.) they came up empty handed. So Gilbert navigated the car back to a parking lot right across the street from the entrance to the uptown area where both he and Matthew sat and waited.

"I am very sure. I can feel it in my cajones." Gilbert replied as he leaned back onto the car with his hands behind his head.

_Cajones?_ Matthew sighed as he watched a couple walk past with their dog. "What if he's at Church? Maybe the people he's staying with are religious. It _is_ Sunday after all."

"Well…most churches usually let out by now." Gilbert said with an irritated tone.

"Yeah, well…" Matthew trailed off thinking for a moment. "Maybe he's staying with some Amish people. They spend all day in Church."

Gilbert raised his head and gave Matthew a weird look.

"I'm pretty sure…" Gilbert said slowly, "That Antonio isn't staying with the Amish."

Matthew shrugged. "It was just a thought."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and laid back down on the car.

The wind blew through the trees above the car that shaded them, and Matthew listened to the leaves rustling. He looked over at Gilbert and saw he was looking up at the sky with a rather distant look on his face.

Matthew watched him for a moment, slightly mesmerized. Then he opened his mouth, "You know, for someone so intent on finding their friend, you're really not even looking at all."

"I have my own methods." Gilbert snapped as his expression changed from the trancelike look to an irritated glare directed at Matthew. "Besides, I'm not that hard to miss, and I'm pretty sure that you're paying attention anyway."

Matthew snorted as he looked away. "Lazy ass…" he said under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, Nothing."

"Bullshit. You called me a lazy ass."

Matthew couldn't hide his grin and he looked at Gilbert.

"So?"

"_So?_ You know why. Because I'm not, and you know that." Matthew's grin only grew when he realized that Gilbert was pouting.

"Yes. You are lazy."

"I'm not."

"You are."

Gilbert huffed and sat up. "Okay then. Prove it."

"Well, for starters, we could be walking around the town and actually be looking for Antonio instead of just sitting here and expecting him to appear out of nowhere."

Matthew had to pat himself on the back when he saw the look Gilbert gave him after he said that sentence. Bull's eye.

There was a moment of silence as Gilbert looked at Matthew, looked down, looked back at Matthew, then across the street, then hoisted himself off of the car and casually stretched.

"Well, I'm hungry." He began, "Besides, we didn't have lunch yet. And there was a Taco place uptown somewhere. Let's get some tacos."

Gilbert began walking away, and Matthew felt himself smirk in victory. He never really did get the chance to prove anyone wrong, (Save for his brother, but it just wasn't the same) and man, did victory feel good. He got off the car and hurried up to Gilbert.

"Oh, sure. Not like we're actually going to look for Antonio now or anything…"

"Oh, no. We aren't, we're just going to get some lunch."

"Oh? Because I could have sworn—"

"Shut up and let me get a damn taco."

Gilbert had been right, and there was a Mexican restaurant just up the road. On the walk over, Matthew tried to coax Gilbert into admitting that he had been right, but to no avail. Gilbert just kept snapping that he wanted a taco, then would try to take discreet glances up and down the street for any signs of Antonio. When they got into the restaurant, Gilbert ordered a couple tacos to go(After the fact that the cashier kept doing double takes at his white hair and red eyes), and despite Matthew's complaints, he bought a taco for him too.

"If you keep buying things for me, I'll forget how much money I owe you." Matthew pouted as he stared down at the lone taco in his hands. The guilt was almost overpowering his hungry stomach. Almost.

"Dunh woreh bou eh." Gilbert said as he stuffed nearly half the taco into his mouth.

"…what?" Matthew stared at Gilbert incredulously.

Gilbert swallowed, "I said, don't worry about it."

"But—"

"I don't want to hear it." Gilbert cut him off, "If you really want to pay me back that badly, buy me a Bugatti."

"Um…" Matthew paused, not sure of what a Bugatti was, "I'll pass."

"See? That's why I told you not to worry about it. But I'm sure you could afford it since," And Gilbert took another bite out of the taco, finishing it off, "yor hoff maes men look like afrailer."

"Your huff makes men look frailer?"

"No. Like a trailer." Gilbert corrected Matthew as he swallowed. Matthew only stared until Gilbert repeated, "Your house makes mine look like a trailer."

"Ohhh…" Matthew shook his head, "But your house isn't a trailer! It's bigger than most houses!" Matthew was only guessing since he had glimpsed the house once after the party at night and a second time the next day, but it still looked nice from what he had seen. Basically, the typical family home.

"Yeah, but your house? It's fucking _huge_. I mean, in case you haven't noticed."

Matthew shrugged and looked down. "I don't really like it. I would rather live in a house like yours…"

Gilbert snorted. "Yeah, right. You're lucky. I'd kill to live in the neighborhood you live in."

Matthew half-shrugged again. He never liked talking about his house. Everyone always wished that they lived like he did, and it sometimes made him slightly sick at their envy. If only they knew how much he would rather live like a normal kid and not that-kid-that-lives-in-the-ultra-rich-neighborhood. In an attempt to end the subject, Matthew unwrapped the taco and took a bite out of it. He couldn't taste anything.

"But what I don't understand," Gilbert continued, oblivious to Matthew's attempts, "Is how you never ran into either Romano or Feliciano."

Unlike Gilbert, Matthew waited until he chewed, then swallowed, before he replied, "What do you mean?"

"Well, they don't live that far from you. If I'm correct, they live like, a block away from you."

Matthew pondered this. "Wow, I never knew that…" The mention of Romano's name brought Matthew back to the day that he had been in the supermarket, and he had caught Romano with the most miserable look on his face. He felt like mentioning it to Gilbert. He didn't know why, but he figured it was better than no one. Since, well, Antonio was Gilbert's friend who was dating Romano, and apparently his younger brother was good friends with Feliciano…

"You know, I saw Romano that one day when we had gone to watch Ludwig play soccer—"

"Oh really? What did he do? Did he tell you to fuck off? Did he throw something at you and call you a dirty German? I mean, that's what he does for me."

Matthew couldn't help but laugh at Gilbert's matter-of-fact tone. "Shut up, I'm trying to tell you something serious…"

But Matthew never got the chance. His smile disappeared and was replaced by one of disbelief as he stared ahead of him. Surely, he was seeing things…

"What?" Gilbert said as he stopped next to Matthew and looked at the expression on his face. When Matthew didn't answer, Gilbert waved his hand in front of Matthew's face. "Hello, what is it?"

Matthew shook his head and batted Gilbert's hand away in annoyance before continuing to stare ahead, mouth agape.

"I can't believe it. You…Gilbert, for God's sake, _look_."

Gilbert did as he was told and followed Matthew's gaze. Then he stared too.

* * *

Gilbert did a double take, still not believing what he was seeing. There was _no way_. Sure, he had gone out on a limb with this crazy idea that there might be some remote chance to find Antonio if they did this, and sure he had dragged Matthew into this, which he was wondering now if he really did it just so that the plan didn't seem as stupid.

But Gilbert thought now that if he had known this would happen earlier, he would have made sure to go back in time to the Gilbert from two hours ago and told him that he and two-hour-ago Matthew were going to take a walk to a taco place for lunch, and there they'd see Antonio, walking toward them casually. He wouldn't notice you yet, he's just looking in the windows of the stores and listening to his iPod, but when present Gilbert wordlessly hands Matthew his uneaten taco and walks up to Antonio, his brown haired friend will glance at him out of the corner of his eye, then he himself will do a double take. He's eyes will widen in surprise and he'll pull the ear buds out and also stare.

Then Antonio will blink hard once. Twice. Then, "No _way_."

And Gilbert will grin, "Hell _yes_."

"Gilbert?" Antonio asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Gilbert was relieved that Antonio was asking it more out of shock than disbelief and anger, unlike Francis. "Why the hell not?" He replied and inwardly cringed, hoping it wouldn't be a repeat of what happened with Francis. On the outside, he wore a winning smirk to cover up his uncertainty.

There was a pause and then Antonio did what he was best at. He smiled.

Gilbert could have melted in relief, but he had enough dignity to not show it on the outside, and he was about to ask Antonio how he had been when he was roughly pushed into the nearby alley.

"Stay there." Antonio quickly said then turned away, leaving Gilbert to stare at him. Uh, _okay_.

But then he understood why he did that when two adults walked up to Antonio and he began speaking to them in Spanish. They were Antonio's foster parents.

Gilbert grimaced at the name. Why did they have to call it that? He looked at the man and the woman as they exchanged words with him. They looked young—younger than Antonio's real parents anyway—and the woman was holding the small hand of a little girl that looked to be about three years old.

After a minute or two of Antonio talking to them—Gilbert wished he had paid more attention in Spanish. The only Spanish he understood was 'Si', 'Por Que?' And not to mention, 'Yo quiero, Taco bell.' The only way he had managed to pass the class was because Antonio spoke it fluently—Antonio held out his hand toward the little girl and she took it, while the two adults turned away and began walking in the opposite direction.

Antonio watched them for a moment then, "Alright, you can come out."

Gilbert tried to sound terrified as he whispered, "I-is it safe?"

Antonio rolled his eyes, but grinned at Gilbert as he walked out from the alley.

"I told them that I was going to the park. I figured it might be the best place for us to talk."

"What? That's it? No lectures? No yelling at me for being here because we'll only get in more trouble?" This had been Francis' reaction, and he had expected no less from Antonio. Well, not really. But Antonio usually was the more sensible one.

Antonio shrugged, "Hey, at this point, I'm too happy to care."

"You're _always_ happy."

"Don't I know it," Antonio agreed and craned his neck over Gilbert's shoulder, "Is that…Matthew? Francis' cousin?"

Gilbert looked at Antonio surprised, "You remembered his name? But yeah, he came with me." Gilbert turned around and called Matthew's name. He had been casually minding his own business so that it wouldn't draw more attention toward Antonio and Gilbert, but now he walked up to them.

"Hey, Matthew. I haven't seen you in a while." Antonio said with a smile on his face.

Matthew smiled nervously and waved to Antonio.

"He doesn't really talk much, does he?" Antonio commented jokingly as he turned to Gilbert.

"Nope. I think he's shy around strangers. You should see him when he's mad though." Gilbert teased back.

Matthew huffed, "Okay, really funny." He looked at Gilbert, "I'm going to be at the library." He said as he pointed to the one across the street.

Gilbert looked at library, then at Matthew. "Why? Are your book senses tingling?"

Matthew smiled slightly, "No, shut up. Besides, it'll be better if I'm out of the way, it'll give you two more time to talk about things."

"Oh…" Gilbert said, feeling a rush of affection toward Matthew. "Are, are you sure? I mean, it's not like you'll be in the way or anything…"

"It's fine. Just don't forget to pick me up when we have to leave."

Gilbert laughed slightly. "Right. Don't want to leave you stuck at the library."

Matthew smiled, handed Gilbert his taco, then turned around and started walking away.

Antonio watched Matthew walk away then looked at Gilbert with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there something going on…that I should know about?" He hadn't heard their conversation, and Gilbert was glad for that.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the last time I saw him, you were making fun of him at the track meet, and now…are you two…?"

"What? You don't mean…" Gilbert's cheeks turned red, "What? _What?_ No! That, no! We're not!"

Antonio grinned, "Just checking."

Gilbert huffed and looked down at the little girl. She was peeking out at him from behind Antonio's pant leg, and her one hand was holding a fistful of it.

"Uh…Antonio? Who's the kid?"

"Oh. This is Devi." Antonio looked down and using a very caring older brother voice that Gilbert had never heard him use before, said to Devi, "Devi, do you want to say 'hi' to Gilbert? He's my friend."

Devi looked up at Antonio, then at Gilbert , then hid behind his pant leg again, furiously shaking her head, her black hair whipping this way and that.

"Huh. She's usually not this shy. I wonder what's up."

"Maybe it's because I have red eyes, and you know, that can be kind of scary to a little kid." Gilbert said bluntly.

Antonio looked up at him, "Wow, I completely forgot about that." He gave a small laugh before he turned his attention to Devi and asked her if she wanted to walk to the park with them. She nodded her head, then took Antonio's hand and began walking next to him.

Gilbert didn't know how many times he found it such a relief that his friends didn't treat him any differently. Okay, so he was albino. And who the fuck was albino? No one, except for him. And what was cooler than that? It turned heads (Of course, his hotness already did that) and made him the center of attention. But even then, it was nice to hang out with Antonio and Francis and hear them be all, "Oh, you have white hair? Forgot about that. Whoopsie." To them, it didn't matter that he looked different, and even if Gilbert loved attention more than any of them, it was nice to be treated normal by his closest friends.

"So, like, is she their kid or something?" Gilbert asked.

Antonio nodded. "Yeah, most of the time I've been stuck babysitting her since I got here. But it doesn't matter, she's really cute!"

Typical Antonio. Talking about cute things. "But seriously, is the family you're staying with Spanish or something?" When he nodded, Gilbert scoffed, "She isn't trying to say something, is she?"

Both guys knew Gilbert was talking about the principal.

Antonio shrugged. "I thought it was a little weird at first, but it isn't so bad. I mean, it could be worse. So," Antonio said with a bit of bitterness in his voice, "Did she die yet?"

"Uhhh, not yet. I've been thinking of ways to get her fired, but I'm going to have to find some wimpy Freshman or something to carry out the plan for me."

"Oh." And then the smile reappeared on Antonio's face, "Maybe I can give a few ideas?"

"Anytime, my friend."

When they reached the park, Antonio, Gilbert, and Devi all walked to the area with the sandboxes, and Devi instantly hopped into one and began piling sand into little mountains. Gilbert and Antonio settled down in the shade a few feet away.

"You know, I saw the picture in the newspaper of the school." Gilbert said casually.

Antonio grinned triumphantly. "You like it? They have no security cameras here. Can you believe it?"

"Well, yeah. Considering you practically painted the whole thing." Gilbert laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised if they're considering getting cameras after you did that."

Antonio shrugged. "Hey, can't say I didn't have fun. And besides, it worked didn't it?"

Gilbert nodded and looked away, "Yeah…I didn't know…how I was going to find you."

"Why? Do you feel like it was your responsibility?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, because if I hadn't…"

Antonio placed a hand on his shoulder and Gilbert looked up.

"Hey, don't worry about it."

"But—"

"Look, the principal was out of line. I'm not stupid. You were just being you. It's not like you knew all of this would happen just because we decided to talk about what we normally do."

Gilbert shrugged Antonio's hand off and looked away again. "But it still doesn't mean that I don't feel…"

"Guilty? Responsible?" Gilbert didn't say anything, and Antonio sighed. "Hey? How about this. I forgive you."

Gilbert sighed, "So you were mad at me?" He said slightly dejected, but at the same time, as if he was expecting this.

"No. Since when have I ever been mad at you or Francis?"

"Umm… when we pushed you into the mud, and we had no idea that you were wearing your brand new sneakers that your mom just bought you?"

Antonio laughed at the memory, "Yeah, when was that? When we were eleven?"

Gilbert grinned. He remembered it clearly. After Antonio had started crying, making Francis and Gilbert feel like big jerks, he had yelled at them and forced them to clean his sneakers as he stood by, glaring at them both with his hands on his hips. That had been the last time he had ever yelled at them, and everyone intended to keep it that way. Angry Antonio was a very very scary Antonio.

"You were just looking at me like you wanted me to say that." Antonio shrugged, "by the way, how is Francis? Have you heard from him?"

"Oh…" Gilbert bit his lower lip and scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah. I saw him. He, uh…he's really pissed off at me about the whole thing."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me." Antonio sighed as he leaned back and stared up at the sky. "You two always find something to get mad at each other about."

And it was true. Francis and Gilbert were the best of friends, but because each were so headstrong, they found themselves disagreeing more than agreeing most of the time. In fact, Antonio was like the calm for them. For the three of them, it could never be Gilbert and Francis, because they'd eventually kill each other, it couldn't be Francis and Antonio, because Francis scoffed at sports, and it couldn't be Gilbert and Antonio, because it was like something was missing.

And something was missing. There had always been three. Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio. They were the Bad Friends Trio.

"But hey, you found him, you found me. I'm sure we can find a way to all meet up somewhere and hang out like old times, before we all have to…leave…"

Gilbert looked over at Antonio and saw he had a rather glazed over look in his eyes. He didn't blame him. Call Gilbert an insensitive bastard, but even he felt his chest clinch up in sadness when the harsh reality hits him. They weren't kids anymore, and pretty soon they were all going to part ways and go off to college.

"Toni!" Antonio looked up as Devi ran up to him holding a red flower, "For you!"

Antonio smiled and took the flower, "Aww, Devi, thanks!" He leaned in and whispered, but just loud enough for Gilbert to hear, "Why don't you get my friend one too?"

Devi looked over at Gilbert and her eyes widened. She shook her head and ran away. Antonio looked at Gilbert.

"Kids hate me." Gilbert said with a grimace, causing Antonio to laugh, "But they don't hate you Antonio…you'd make a really good brother…"

Antonio shrugged. "Eh. I do like kids and everything, but yeah. She kind of is like the little sister I've never had." Between the three friends, Gilbert was the only one that had any siblings.

Gilbert watched as Devi picked up a twig and proceeded to bury it in the sand. He suddenly felt really sad and almost as if he were empty, and he lowered his head.

"Hey…" Antonio said catching Gilbert's expression, "How are…how are your parents and everything…?"

Gilbert shrugged and lifted his head, "They're doing better. They still yell at me the same as always." He gave a weak smile and Antonio smiled softly back.

"I heard that the principal somehow manipulated our parents into not giving out information about where we are." Antonio said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, Matthew said something about that. He uh, helped me get the address on where Francis lived, and he said that his aunt was really cautious about what she said and wouldn't tell him where he was and everything."

Antonio nodded. "Wow…did you know my parents are thinking about filing a lawsuit?"

Gilbert looked up in surprise. "What? Really?"

"Really, because if you really think about it, that was a bit much on the woman's part, no?"

Gilbert grinned. "I love your parents." Antonio's parents may be the most laid back people in the world, but then here they were pulling out a lawsuit against a school system.

"Speaking of which, when my parents call me, they mention how much they miss you and Francis. They keep telling me to tell you to stop by there place and eat some churros with them."

"Damn, I love your mother's churros."

"Haha…that's what he said."

"Oh, ew."

Gilbert shoved Antonio and he started laughing. Gilbert couldn't help but laugh along with him. That was another thing about Antonio. His laugh was so addicting.

"But yeah…" Antonio said when he calmed back down, "You should try to visit Francis again. I'm sure he's lonely by now, and probably not that mad at you anymore."

Gilbert shrugged. He decided it was best not to mention that there were days that he had been tempted to call Francis, but each time he guiltily thought about what had happened because he had been so forward and irrational, and in the end he wouldn't call.

"We need to find a way to hang out together without your 'foster parents' finding out." Gilbert grimaced. The principal had given all of the guardian's strict instructions that over the summertime, the three friends couldn't come in contact with each other as they may 'do some awful things'. He didn't really realize until then just how fortunate he was that he got to stay with his parents. So he had to sneak out to do things like this, and they had jacked his cell phone, but so what? At least he still got to stay at home. Unlike his other friends…

"And besides, don't worry about me. Don't think it's your responsibility to try and fix what happened in the past." Antonio's voice was now in its no nonsense tone, "Besides, nothing happened to our school records. Amazingly, the principal had enough of a heart not to write this down."

Gilbert's eyes widened. Well _this_ was a surprise. "Wait, so then, was it all a lie?" The principal had made sure to really rub it in that this was going down in their records.

Antonio shrugged, "They're looking up on it. But they seriously think she threatened us so that she could move us out of the school system. But all of our college records are apparently untouched."

"That's…really crazy." That had been one of the heaviest things that had sat on Gilbert's chest. Despite what most people thought, the three of them actually all did really well in school, and participated in clubs or extracurricular activities. And the one thing that Gilbert had been so sure he had screwed up was the fact that what he had said was going to affect both his friends' school records and overall their entire future. But apparently not. It was like a breath of fresh air learning this.

"So that means that your scholarship…"

Antonio grinned. "You should have seen how mad the coaches here were when they found out that I was going to come to there school. They actually told me they wished I had gotten in trouble earlier in the year, because apparently, they could have used me."

"Ohhh, does the track team here suck?" Gilbert loved his school's team. They kicked ass, to put it modestly.

"No…I'd give them a six out of ten. But the school here is so small, they don't even have pole vaulting."

Gilbert laughed at this.

"But apparently I'm something of a legend. Everyone already knew me as 'that sprinter' when I got here." Antonio said.

"Hey, word spreads fast."

"Which reminds me…" Antonio tilted his head toward Gilbert's knee, "Isn't that thing healed yet?"

"Nope. I might have to get surgery on it too." Gilbert said adjusting the brace slightly.

"Ouch." Antonio made a face.

"Hey, better me than you. It's not like I was going to get a scholarship anytime soon for my running."

"That's true." Antonio sighed, his face still screwed up in pain.

"Damn straight it's true."

Gilbert and Antonio continued talking and by the time they realized how late it was, Devi had fallen asleep in Antonio's lap, and the sun had started getting lower in the sky. Brushing themselves off as they stood up, Antonio carefully picked up Devi and cradled her in his arms as they began walking back. When they reached the front of the library, Gilbert turned toward Antonio.

"I dare you to keep that thing behind your ear." Gilbert said to Antonio, referring to the red flower Devi had given him. It was now tucked behind his ear in a very girlish manner.

"As long as you keep yours in too." Antonio replied with a grin. Eventually Devi had gotten the courage to go up to Gilbert and give him a yellow flower. He had smiled at her because, dammit kids were adorable, and she had smiled back at him shyly before turning and running away.

And now the both of them were proudly showing off their flowers tucked behind their ears.

"Ha. You're on." Gilbert smirked and pretended to toss his hair.

Antonio smiled, then his smile fell and he looked down as he brought up a hand to better support Devi who had her head rested against his shoulder.

"Um…I want to know but, have you seen Romano since…?"

Gilbert frowned and bit his lip. He hesitated, wanting to lie. "No, I haven't seen him."

Antonio sighed and Gilbert felt himself cringe in guilt. "Heh. Oh well." Antonio shrugged like it was no big deal, "It probably wouldn't have worked out between him and I anyway…"

Unlike he and Francis, Antonio had been in a relationship with someone when they had all been sent away, and Gilbert knew that even though Antonio told him not to blame himself, that it wasn't his fault, he knew that it was his fault for something. He had caused his friend's heart to be broken.

"Hey. If I do see him, I'll make sure to give him your cell phone number, alright?" Gilbert said reassuringly, knowing he had to at least compensate for all that he had done.

Antonio gave him a weak smile, to show that he was grateful for Gilbert's efforts.

"So…I guess this is goodbye for now?" Antonio said wistfully and Gilbert nodded.

"Yeah, I have to get back, or else my parents are going to get home and realize that I'm gone and they'll both kill me."

"Well, get home." Antonio said and paused for a moment before he looked at Gilbert and said, "You know…you've changed a little."

Gilbert had been stretching slightly until he heard Antonio say this, and he regarded him with a weird look.

"Changed…how?"

"I don't know…you're still the same, but you seem…I don't know," Antonio paused as he looked for the right words, "You just seem different. Kinder."

Antonio smirked as Gilbert made a gagging noise.

"I remember when you were always so mean to little_ innocent_ Matthew, and now you two look like good friends. Or maybe," Antonio raised an eyebrow, "more than friends?"

Gilbert felt his face grow red. "Antonio, you're insane."

Antonio whistled and gave Gilbert a very amused look. "Alright, if you really want to think that…" and he turned around and began walking away.

"What?" Gilbert said and shouted after Antonio, "Just what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. See you later, Gilbert."

"Antonio! Hey, Antonio! HEY!"

* * *

Matthew rested his cheek against his hand as he aimlessly flipped through another Encyclopedia dated back from the 90's. So far he had learned that Austria was one of the most famous countries in the world for its music, Prussia used to have the most prestigious militaries which where now modeled by Germany's military, and during the wintertime in Alaska, a small part of the ocean separating the land from Russia would freeze over, allowing people to cross over and invade the area. Now he was in the T's and he was reading about the origin of Tacos when a pale hand reached out and landed on top of the encyclopedia, effectively scaring the wits out of him.

"Hey!" Gilbert said, none to quietly for a library. Matthew looked over at the clock. It was nearly six o'clock.

"Oh wow, you've been gone for about…is that a flower?" Matthew squinted as he stared at the yellow placed right behind Gilbert's ear.

"It is indeed." Gilbert said, sounding very proud.

"Um…do I want to know?" Matthew said, his eyes stuck on the flower.

"Haha, actually it's a long story." Gilbert said, daring Matthew to press the subject. Matthew only raised his eyebrows as he stood up and closed the book.

"Seriously, I was gone for a long time. How did you not die of boredom?" Gilbert asked Matthew as he placed the book back onto the shelf.

"I wasn't bored. I was reading."

"Still…"

"Well, I did wonder at one point if you had really driven off and left me." Matthew said jokingly.

"Nah, I remembered!" Gilbert said triumphantly.

Matthew looked at him and rolled his eyes.

As they walked back to the car, Matthew noticed that Gilbert kept glancing at him as he did something that looked like he was chewing on his tongue. When they finally reached the vehicle, Matthew reached for the door handle on the passenger side, but Gilbert reached out his hand and grabbed his wrist.

"Er…?" Matthew looked at Gilbert.

"I just want to thank you…" Gilbert said quietly.

"Oh…" Matthew blushed, "No problem…"

"No…" Gilbert said, his voice serious, "_Thank you_. None of this would have happened if you hadn't been here."

Matthew gave a nervous smile. He never did well with praise, and this was certainly, well…it was coming out of Gilbert's mouth, if that was any indication.

They stood there for a moment. Matthew could feel his legs brushing up against the car as he looked up at Gilbert. He didn't know what to say, but he knew he didn't have to say anything. He felt himself blush as he felt Gilbert slowly remove his hand from his wrist, his fingers tracing over Matthew's skin. His skin felt all tingly where Gilbert had touched it.

Gilbert didn't say anything else and he moved over to the other side of the car and got in. Matthew followed suit and sat down next to him. They were both quiet as they drove out of Penn County, while the sun sank lower in the sky.

* * *

Gilbert glanced over at Matthew as he moved slightly in his sleep. It hadn't been twenty minutes into the drive and already he was knocked out. He assumed reading a ton of encyclopedias did that to someone, whether they liked to read or not. But then again, he couldn't really blame him. He had been stuck in a library for nearly three hours…

He heard Matthew sigh quietly as he was jostled when they slowed to a stop at a red light. Gilbert watched him as he breathed evenly in and out, his one hand that held his glasses was hanging loosely off of the seat, while the other hand was placed under his cheek. Gilbert reached forward and lightly brushed away the strands of hair that had fallen into Matthew's face. Matthew's eyes twitched slightly, but he didn't stir.

Gilbert leaned back and began driving again as the light turned green.

"Antonio and you…you'll both be the death of me." Gilbert said with a smirk on his face as he pulled a coat out of the back seat and draped it over Matthew's shoulders.

**BLEHBLEBLWEBLA.**

**Oh my god…OH MY GOD.  
**

**I wish I had a good excuse. I am now kicking my own ass at my lateness.**

**Just. UGH. I soon as I post this I'll be starting the sixteenth chapter which is probably going to be posted on…Saturday…yeah, I'm being dragged to Erie for a couple days.**

**Anyway, I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorrrrrrryyy! My next updates will be more frequent like they were before once I get back.  
**

**Thank you for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**In the last chapter I misspelled 'Cajones'. I corrected it, thanks to my intelligent readers, and now we will pretend it never happened c:**

**LAWL, enjoy Chapter sixteen!**

The next day, Matthew woke up late and had to take a quick shower and barely made it to work on time. He felt oddly lethargic, as if he were missing something in his day. Usually he had a blast at work, because no matter how lame people thought it was, Matthew loved the fact that each person that came in to his workplace would most likely order something completely different than the next person. So maybe two people in a row will want coffee, but the second person would want milk in their coffee instead of powder. He also loved on the really busy days (As Tino had hoped, his shop had become a huge hit.) when he had to write the people's names on the cups so they wouldn't confuse their order with someone else's, he loved writing each person's name in a different style. Maybe this person he would write the name in cursive, or another person's in all capital letters. He did add a star at the end of the names at one point, but then he decided it was better not to, since he felt ridiculous doing it.

But today he went through the orders with slowness as he watched the hours drag by on the clock, just wanting his shift to end.

It was about an hour into his job that he thought about Gilbert as he mixed a caramel-vanilla mocha together for a woman named Amanda that looked to be in her twenties. He wondered what he was possibly doing right now. He remembered Gilbert telling him that he was off on Monday's, or something like that. He wondered what he was doing right now. Was he sleeping in? Was he watching TV? Matthew sighed wistfully. He felt _bored_. Today was one of those days that he had no clue what was going to happen, and if nothing happened anytime soon, he was going to be the most bored kid on the planet, _even_ if he had the entertainment of writing names on coffee cups at hand.

He was struck with the sudden urge to just call Gilbert in spite and ask him if he wanted to hang out. He didn't know why, and even when he thought about it, he felt foolish. Right now, he just felt…too ordinary. He wasn't driving down the highway with some crazy albino as he sang along in a high pitched voice to some Justin Bieber song on the radio, he wasn't arguing on what candy bar tasted best with Pepsi, and he wasn't joking about Gilbert's intense love for the cast on _Jersey Shore_.

Matthew felt himself blush. Just why was it that he was bored, and all he could think about was Gilbert? Honestly, how did those two connect?

Oh, he knew. But he didn't want to admit it. Just thinking about it made him feel like some nerdy loser, but it was the sad truth. His life had gotten a lot more fun when he had met Gilbert.

Matthew was now preparing an iced coffee for a middle-aged man in a business suit named James when he let out a sigh. It was honestly one day. One day, and already he was bored without Gilbert's presence. He didn't know why, but something made him want to get in the car (Matthew had the car usually nowadays since the pool was within walking distance for Alfred) and drive over to Gilbert's house and knock on his door and ask him if he wanted to hang out. It was ridiculous, but most of the time urges were stupid and pointless. He placed the lid on top of a Cappuccino and gave it to a woman named Julia, who smiled at him in thanks before continuing her conversation on her cell phone.

The shop was now empty of customers, since the lunch break hours were over, save for some people sitting on the couches and conversing with each other. Matthew leaned back against the counter and stared out the windows with a bored expression. He had a feeling he might not want to carry out the plan of showing up uninvited to Gilbert's house, since he had mentioned something before about his parent's not even letting him get out a whole lot since he was beyond grounded due to the incident at the school. He figured showing up at Gilbert's place would only lead to more problems.

He chewed on his cheek restlessly. But what was he thinking? Would Gilbert even want to hang out with him? Probably not. He was being ridiculous, thinking that someone like Gilbert would want to hang out with some lame Sophomore (or in this case now, Junior). Tino was putting more pastries into the display case when he gave Matthew a soft smile. Matthew straightened up and returned the smile, hoping he hadn't noticed him looking bored. Trying to make himself busy until more customers came, Matthew began straightening the tea cups that were in the cabinet above his head. Sometimes people would order their drinks and want to sit on one of the couches while drinking from an authentic China cup instead of the typical Styrofoam.

Finally, the hours dragged on until it was time for his shift to be over. Matthew quietly rejoiced to himself as he said goodbye to Tino, then walked out of the café toward his car. Taking out his keys, he unlocked the car doors and sat down in the driver's side staring out the windshield for a moment before he closed the door and started the car. He could have sworn he had heard something like a cat meowing as he drove away, but he was sure he was imagining things.

* * *

"And it's like, I'm whistling at this kid, right? And every time I do, everyone else except him turns around to see what's wrong. And it's like, every time you're trying to yell at one person, it's always everyone else that thinks you're yelling at them. It really pisses me off."

Matthew surfed through over four hundred TV channels as he lounged on the couch and ate ice cream out of the container. He had gotten home just minutes before Alfred had, and when his brother got home, he heard the door slam, then he heard his brother stomp up the stairs and grumble something about having to take a shower. Now, fifteen minutes later, Alfred came downstairs with no shirt on and only a pair of workout shorts. He then sat down on the chair next to Matthew's couch, and complained about how he got chlorine in his hair because some 'idiot kid' decided not to listen to him, and in the end, the kid ended up hitting his head off of the pool wall when he slipped and fell into the pool because he was running, and then Alfred had to jump into the deep end and pull the kid out. The kid wasn't hurt, just a bit stunned, leading Alfred to not feel like a jerk when he began yelling at the kid for not listening to him.

And of course, Alfred then raved about the fact on how he was treated like a hero by a lot of his co-workers, which really made things a little bit better for him, even if he had gotten chlorine in his hair.

Matthew felt relaxed as he listened to his brother tell the story and even laughed when Alfred made a whiny imitation of what the kid sounded like when he talked back to him.

The past few days had been a bit rough for the both of them. At first, Alfred tried to apologize to Matthew, but when Matthew just snapped at him to forget it, their days were filled with an awkward air when they would pass each other in the house and not really say anything to each other. But as time went on, Matthew began to feel more irritated than angry, and then, less than a week later, they were back to talking to each other as they usually did. That's what he admired about his brother. He had the ability to just shrug something off and continue on, and not dwell in the past.

He bit into another spoonful of Moose Tracks when Alfred snatched the carton from him and ran away with it. Despite Matthew's protests, he didn't get up, feeling too lazy to do so, and he collapsed back onto the couch.

When he had returned last night, Matthew had walked into the house to find Alfred with Arthur in the backyard as they dribbled a soccer ball back and forth. The only thing lighting the yard was the pool lights and the lightning bugs as they flashed back and forth. When Matthew went to say hi to them from the patio, Alfred looked at him suspiciously before commenting that Matthew had gotten back late. Matthew nervously said that his boss had made him work late, hoping that it sounded like the truth. Alfred had then casually asked him why he wasn't wearing his uniform, and Matthew blurted out that he had taken it uptown and dropped it off at the dry cleaners to get washed on his way home, when in fact, his uniform was really lying on his dresser, being tossed aside lazily after his work shift from the day before. He had dismissed himself after and hoped that his brother hadn't noticed. He really hoped he hadn't.

But maybe he really didn't, since Alfred was acting the same as always. Matthew sighed in relief at his own assurance and stretched his arms behind his head. His hands bumped up against the phone that was hooked up next to the couch behind his head. As if on instinct, he reached forward and took it off the stand and looked at it. Should he call Gilbert? He really had nothing better to do, and he had a good idea that all he was going to do for the rest of the day was watch Soap Operas on TV and some other show with Tyra Banks as the host.

Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, he dialed Gilbert's phone number. It rang three times, each time sounding more ominous and terrifying and just when Matthew was about to press end, someone answered the phone.

"_Shortie." _Gilbert's voice came through as a statement, not a question.

"Uh…" Matthew said in surprise. It wasn't everyday that someone answered a phone like that, "Yeah, that's me. How did you know?"

"_I gots me some caller ID on this phone. Anyway, I LOVE YOU. How in the world did you know that I was thinking about you? My God, you must be psychic, or maybe mine is rubbing off onto you. Anyway, do you think you can come over?"_

"Um…" Matthew stared at the ceiling as he tried to catch up, a blush spreading over his cheeks, "Why? Is something going on?"

"_Well, you see, since I am such an amazing older brother…" _There was a pause as it sounded like someone in the background was asking Gilbert a question. Gilbert only grunted in return before he continued, _"Anyway, since I am such a hot, amazing older brother, I have come to the conclusion that I decided for once in my life I would be nice to my younger brother. You see, he's going on a date with his boyfriend Feliciano—" _A sharp yell was heard on the other end, and Gilbert burst out laughing, his cackling reminding Matthew of the Joker on a deck of cards for some reason. _"Oh, sorry. I mean he's going to chillaz with his totally cute friend who they are in no way sharing sexual fantasies for each other—"_ There was a loud thump, then a yell of shock before Matthew heard the sound of running footsteps and a door slamming.

"Um, is everything all right?"

"_Oh yeah, everything's fine." _Gilbert said casually, and Matthew imagined him making a motion of his hands like he was waving Matthew's confusion away. _"My brother is just in denial, and I've locked myself in the closet."_

"Oh…" Matthew tried to sound as concerned as possible, "When do you think you'll be able to come out of the closet?"

"_Oh, you know…after some assurance from my other gay friends, then a few prep talks with inanimate objects to get used to the feeling of admitting it before actually coming out, loud and proud."_

"Wow, seems like you've planned this out pretty well."

"_Damn straight I do. But man, you should've seen Antonio. The poor guy didn't have enough courage to tell his parents at first and spent nearly a whole year telling his toaster in the kitchen he was gay until he could find the courage to tell his parents face-to-face."_

"Awww, poor Antonio…" Matthew said sympathetically.

"_No kidding. So anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I'm a sexy beast. But enough about me, do you think you can come over and walk the dogs with me? Ludwig does it because he runs in the woods with them, but since he's going to hang out with his little friend, he asked me to do it, but I'll be bored by myself. So can you do it with me? Please? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseee?"_

"Wait…you have dogs?" Matthew said in confusion, "Why didn't I see them when I came over?"

"_They usually sleep in Ludwig's room since they love him and everything," _Gilbert sounded like he was rolling his eyes to the sentence, _"and not to mention, they're the worst guard dogs ever. Except for Berlitz, but he sleeps through everything."_

"Oh…" Matthew thought for a moment. "How many dogs do you own?"

"_Three. Three drooling slobbering idiotic mutts that eat, sleep, and bark at the mailman."_

"Wow, three's a lot."

"_Yeah, I know. How do you think I feel? Anyway, do you think you can come over? It won't be that hard. They run loose on our land, but sometimes we have to take them out to the woods so that they don't get bored by their surroundings. Or at least, that's what Ludwig says. In my opinion, all you need is to give them a tissue box and they'll spend all day barking at it."_

Matthew felt his heart clench. "In the woods?" He felt the words come out of his mouth, like they were sour milk.

"_Uh, yeah. You know, lots of trees?"_

"Yeah, I know it's just…" Matthew trailed off and bit his lip. Should he tell Gilbert? It wasn't that big a deal, but...

Okay, so maybe it had happened two—no, almost _three years_ _ago_ and he was still fretting about it? He had to be over it by now, he was sure of it. Just because he was going to be in the woods didn't mean anything. He felt a flash of irritation at himself. It was all in his head, and he was letting himself get freaked out about nothing. "…nothing. Nevermind. I can come over, that's fine."

"_Sweeeet. Anyway, just drive out here as soon as you can. Do you remember where I live?" _Matthew said that he was unsure, since Gilbert had driven him to his house late at night, so the general direction of where he lived was a bit hazy. Gilbert gave some instructions on how to get to the house. _"No one else is home except for me, and the front door's unlocked, so you can just walk in."_

"Okay…alright." Matthew said, and then hesitantly asked the next question as he reached for his car keys, "Um…how big are they?" He loved dogs, but since he had never owned one himself, he had his doubts about them.

"_Oh, don't worry…" _Gilbert said, _"They're tiny."_

**My goodness. I'm so excited for the next chapter. In fact, the next chapter is one of the first chapters I had thought of writing when I had first planned this whole story out. The anticipation! –sits and waits in her own anticipation-**

**Stay tuned for Chapter seventeen everyone! **

**Thank you for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I had a dream the other night that my four goldfish got super duper fat. Like fat balloons. It was the scariest goddamn thing I've ever dreamt.**

**They could also, like, fly.**

**-glances warily over at the fish tank- …heh.**

**Enjoy Chapter seventeen!**

As Matthew drove out to where Gilbert lived, he didn't really given the comment about the dogs too much thought. But it was when he had finally arrived that he realized he probably should have.

Pulling into the driveway, it was completely empty, saving Matthew the hassle of having to navigate his car in a way that it fit. Not saying that their driveway wasn't moderately big or anything (It looked like it could fit over four cars), he was just glad that he didn't have to.

He stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut.

So…he was going to help Gilbert walk his dogs…in the woods.

Matthew chewed on his lip and swallowed nervously. He shouldn't be afraid. No, he couldn't be. Everything was going to be _fine_.

He shook away the bad feeling in his chest and walked toward the door. His hand hesitated on the handle for a moment and he stood on the front porch. Even though Gilbert told him just to walk in, it still felt like he was intruding. Putting his hand on the knob, he twisted it and walked in to see…

Oh my God.

Okay, number one on Matthew's to-do list.

Never, _ever_ believe Gilbert again. Ever.

Because right now, staring right back at him as it chewed viciously on a milk bone, lay a German Shepherd.

A _German Shepherd_.

Yeah, right. That's a real tiny dog right there.

The dog leapt up and Matthew felt his breath catch. Oh my God, OH MY GOD. The dog was going to attack him, he just knew it. He tried to move, but his legs kept him in place, ignoring every single command his mind was screaming at them.

But when he thought it couldn't get any worse, two more dogs suddenly raced around the corner.

A Rottweiler and a Golden Retriever.

Oh, well, the Golden Retriever didn't seem too bad. At least it was wagging its tail as it came charging right toward him.

Unlike, you know, the ROTTWEILER and GERMAN SHEPHERD.

Matthew resisted the urge to whimper as he pressed himself up against the wall.

"Good dog, good doggy, please don't attack me…" Matthew said frantically as they all came closer.

So this was it. Was this really how he was going to die? There was so much in life that he wanted to still do…

The all too familiar cackle broke through his thoughts and he looked up to see Gilbert. He was leaning against the wall with a very amused look on his face as he watched Matthew getting cornered by the dogs.

"Gilbert, you liar!" Matthew hissed as he inched away from the Rottweiler when it tried to sniff his shoe.

"Hey, since when have I told you to believe me?" Gilbert said, obviously getting a kick out of the situation.

"Well, maybe if you could just—Gilbert, Gilbert, Gil, help!" Matthew whimpered as now the German Shepherd was also getting closer to him. He was trapped. Unless—

Without a second thought, Matthew bolted for the door and tore it open, running outside. The other side of the door erupted with a series of loud barks coming from all three of the dogs. He could also hear Gilbert laughing and he felt his insides boil up in embarrassment and anger.

A few seconds later though, he heard Gilbert snap, "Shut up! You frickin' mutts." And while the dogs actually complied, Gilbert opened the door and stepped outside. Matthew stood in his place, glaring at Gilbert, while Gilbert smiled back. That charming smile.

"Since when have you called me Gil? What kind of nickname is that?"

"Okay, it just came out. And besides, are you trying to kill me?" Matthew said venomously, trying to ignore the fact that Gilbert looked _really nice_ when he smiled—no, he couldn't think about that. It was catching him off track.

"No." Gilbert said simply. "I just wanted to see your expression when you saw the dogs."

"Oh, you're hilarious. Just hilarious."

"I know I am. But since we've established that, you should come back inside."

"You think I _want_ to?" Matthew exclaimed.

"Come on, they won't bite you. I promise."

"Yeah. Sure. Like you said that they would be _tiny_."

Gilbert laughed. "Come on, admit it. It was funny."

"No. It was scary. I thought they were going to bite me. And you just stood there and watched." Matthew turned around and began stomping away until Gilbert's hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Oh, come on." Gilbert said, and Matthew could tell he was trying really hard not to laugh, "I'm sorry, alright? They really won't bite you. I'm serious."

Matthew huffed, and turned his face away. It really didn't help that Gilbert had his hand on his wrist. IT REALLY DIDN'T HELP. It suddenly felt like a hundred degrees outside.

"I don't believe you."

"Come on, I'm not lying. I pinky swear."

Matthew bit his lip to keep himself from smiling. Gilbert took a glance at his expression.

"Come on, I know you want to meet them." He said.

"I'm still mad at you."

"Oh really?" Gilbert teased, "Then why are you smiling?"

"I'm not smiling, so shut up." Matthew snapped, but his smile only grew.

"You're lying. Come on, trust me." Gilbert said tugging on his wrist.

Matthew sighed then turned to Gilbert. "Fine. But if you lie to me one more time, I'm going to leave."

"Fine by me. But seriously, of all the things to call me in your desperate time of need, you call me 'Gil'? What the hell kind of nickname is that? Why not, 'Amazing sexy knight' or 'His royal hottness'?"

"Alright, shut up about that. It just came out." Matthew snapped.

Gilbert chuckled and Matthew tried to control his heartbeat. Gilbert let go of his wrist and opened the door. Matthew followed after him and took a wary glance inside. He took one look at the three dogs and hesitated.

"Come on, it's alright." Gilbert said, his voice sounding, to Matthew's surprise, gentle instead of its usual sarcastic tone. Matthew stepped forward slightly but jumped back as the Golden Retriever lunged forward. He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact, but when he didn't feel one, he dared a peek. Gilbert had his hand on the dog's collar as the Retriever frantically tried to get to Matthew, his tongue lolling, and his tail wagging so fast it looked like it would fall off.

"Jesus. Aster, quit it!" Gilbert snapped and tugged the collar on the dog. He looked up at Matthew and sighed. "This is Aster. He's the worst guard dog ever, he likes to eat CDs and toilet paper, and the worst he can do is tackle you to death. Trust me, he loves everyone and everything."

Matthew hesitated, then slowly kneeled down and stuck his hand out toward Aster. Aster sniffed his hand, and then his tail began wagging faster, if that were even possible. Gilbert let go of Aster's collar and instantly the dog was shoving his nose into Matthew's face and licking him frantically. Matthew couldn't help it and he laughed as he tried to push the dog off.

"See? Told you." Gilbert said with a grin on his face. Matthew smiled back at him and rubbed the Aster's belly as the dog made a big show of rolling over onto his back.

Gilbert turned and pointed to the German Shepherd, who was once again gnawing on the bone.

"This worthless mutt is Blackie, and," Gilbert pointed to the Rottweiler that had also lost interest in Matthew and was now lying on the couch, "That sorry son-of-a-bitch is Berlitz."

Matthew laughed, "Gilbert! That's mean!"

"It's true." Gilbert shrugged, "You also almost closed the door on his nose when you ran out earlier. Funniest fucking thing I've seen in a while."

Matthew blushed slightly, "Do you have to keep bringing that up?"

"Um, yeah." Gilbert said like Matthew was dumb.

"Um, why?" Matthew scoffed back.

"Because. I feel like it."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." Matthew said as he rolled his eyes.

Gilbert raised his arms above his head as he stretched and Matthew watched as a small patch of skin on his stomach became revealed. He felt his face growing warm and he looked away.

Seriously, what was wrong with him?

"Hey, you ready to go?"

"Huh?" Matthew grunted as he looked up, lost in his own thought. Gilbert was standing over him, his hands on his hips.

"You know, out on the adventure of walking these monsters?"

"Oh, yeah, that." Matthew straightened up, wishing he had worn something other than jeans. Gilbert was dressed in shorts, a ragged shirt on, with running shoes to boot. He hoped they wouldn't actually be running, or doing anything super extracurricular.

But it was as Gilbert led Matthew through the dining room into the kitchen toward the back door and called the three dogs over to them. It was as he pulled open the back door and the three dogs burst through it, almost knocking the both of them over, and as Gilbert was yelling after them what useless dogs they were, that the reality hit Matthew again like falling into a frozen lake in the middle of a desert.

They were going into the woods.

Matthew had forgotten about it amidst all the excitement stirred up by the dogs earlier, and now it was all coming back to him. But he already told himself that everything would be fine. It wouldn't be like before. There was no way such a coincidence—

"Helloo~?" Gilbert's voice came through Matthew's thoughts and he looked up. He didn't know Gilbert had been talking to him.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Matthew replied quickly. The both of them were walking through Gilbert's backyard which was like a large field, but of short, newly mowed grass. About an acre away on each side, a house stood. And beyond the grassy field stood the forest, stretching as far as the eye could see on either side.

It was weird.

The forest didn't look the same

as the one he was at last time.

But

it didn't

help.

It still

made him

remember.

"_Matthew…"_

**STOP IT. NOW.**

"I was asking you if you shared that car with your brother." Gilbert repeated.

"Oh…yeah, we do." Matthew said in a slightly distant tone.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, but continued anyway. "Yeah, I think you told me that before, but I was just double checking. I mean, doesn't it suck? Because if I were you, I'd bitch at my parents until they got me my own car."

"Well, it's not that bad…" Matthew shrugged, "Alfred uses it more than me, so I don't really mind." His mind was instantly brought back to a memory of overhearing his parents one night as they sat in the dining room while he sat at the staircase, accidently eavesdropping. He had just come down for a glass of water because he was thirsty, but the conversation caught his attention at the mention of he and his brother's names.

"Alfred complained about the Aurora again today." He heard his dad sigh, "He wants to know when he'll be allowed to get his own car. And he can't believe that the car's used, of all things."

"He has always been the impatient one." His mom's voice came out amused, "We just gave them the car a month ago, and already he wants to move onto something bigger. Even then, I'm sure he'll find something to complain about it even then."

"If they show enough responsibility with sharing the car, and if they pull through, you think then maybe, it won't be such a bad idea?"

There was a silence for a moment, and Matthew imagined his mother massaging his temples as she thought this over.

"Well…maybe. I don't think it would be such a bad idea. They could each have their own cars to take to college. But, I don't know. I'm too tired to think about it right now. I have to get up early tomorrow to get to work."

There was a sigh as they each stood up and said goodnight to each other. Their father always stayed up later, while their mother usually went to bed first. Matthew stood up and quietly went up the steps.

That had been just a few weeks before their work schedules had made it nearly impossible for them to be home. He had never told Alfred about what he had heard. After all, Matthew was certain they probably hadn't given their talk much thought since then. Since they were too _busy_.

Back in the present, Matthew watched the dogs run loose as they bounded over the grass, each racing each other to see who could make it to the woods first.

"How old are they?" Matthew asked curiously.

"Uhh…we don't really know how old Blackie is. He's a retired Search-Rescue dog, and the place we got him from usually retires their dogs when they're about five or six, so he's probably ten or something now. Aster's seven, and Berlitz is only four.

"Oh…Blackie didn't seem…" Matthew couldn't really picture Blackie as a Search and Rescue dog after he had watched the dog gnaw on the milkbone like there was no tomorrow. Weren't German Shepherds supposed to be diligent and alert?

"Yeah, he's really let himself go. That and Ludwig spoils the crap out of him. He's like a fat middle age man that sits on the couch all day, and he was once, an amazing athlete or something."

Matthew giggled at the thought, "So, your brother really likes dogs?"

"Likes them? That's an understatement. He absolutely loves them. I mean, he's the one that owns these three."

"But aren't these, family dogs?"

"Well, yes and no. Ludwig out of the rest of us is the one that takes care of all of them, and it was his idea to adopt Blackie and Aster. The exception is my dad, since one of the people that worked at the mechanic shop with him had to give away Berlitz because he was moving. His name was Chainsaw or something back then before Ludwig renamed him…" Gilbert said the last sentence as if he were trying to remember something.

"Wait, and that's fine with your parents?"

Gilbert looked at Matthew, "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just…" Matthew paused. He didn't really like talking about his parents to people that weren't his family. "My parents don't allow us to own any pets."

Gilbert whistled. "Wow, that sucks. I mean, why?"

Matthew gave a half hearted shrug. "They said if we owned a pet fur there would be all over the furniture, and because of where we live it would...well, ruin the image, as my mom once told me."

"So, you've never owned a pet?" Gilbert said in a tone like he was just realizing something. Maybe it was the reason why Matthew had been so hesitant to meet the dogs. Simply because he hadn't been around them very much in his life.

"Well, I did…once." Matthew said slowly, "Back when we lived in Canada, I had a white cat named Kumajiro. He used to act like he had no clue who I was, and only ever asked to be fed." Matthew laughed at the memory, but then he stopped, and his voice came out quieter, "But we moved to America and…"

Gilbert watched Matthew's eyes fill up with pain, and he went to change the subject.

"Do you really have moose up in Canada?"

"Whaaaat?" Matthew's eyes lit up as he laughed at Gilbert's question, "Of course we do! Everyone knows that!"

Gilbert shrugged and couldn't help but grin. Hey, maybe he had already known the answer, but at least Mathew was smiling again.

Matthew felt himself stop as the terrain under his feet changed. No longer were they stepping over grass, and instead, what lay ahead was a worn down trail that snaked it's way through the forest. Gilbert noticed that Matthew was no longer walking next to him and turned around.

"You alright?"

Matthew felt his palms sweat up and he turned back toward the field for a moment. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to look back at the trail ahead of him.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Matthew said. Using all his willpower, he took his first step onto the trail.

Gilbert waited for him to catch up before he continued talking. "I'm glad that this trail's private."

"What do you mean?" Matthew asked, trying to distract himself from his thoughts.

"Well, when you buy a house in this part of the development, you get a certain amount of acres as your property. So if anyone were to be found on this trail right now without permission, we could actually sue them, or something like that, since they're like, in our backyard." Gilbert finished the last part with an amused look on his face. "Besides, it would just be a huge hassle to have to share a trail with someone. Trust me, you share something with someone, they will always find something to bitch about."

"Oh, I know." Matthew said, thinking about Alfred and their mutual ownership of their car.

As Gilbert continued talking, Matthew only found himself half listening as he realized something new and amazing. Here they were walking through the forest, as the dogs ran about twenty feet ahead of them. Every so often, Gilbert would call them back if they would get too far and they'd obediently trot over to him.

And what he realized was that right now, as he was walking through the forest with Gilbert, he didn't feel afraid, or nervous. He didn't feel like he was about to breakdown. He didn't feel anything.

The anticipation upon thinking and assuming he was going to feel these things disappeared within minutes of entering the forest. He didn't feel anything that he thought he would feel. He was sure he wouldn't be able to handle it, and here he was walking down a trail in the middle of a forest as he laughed at a joke Gilbert told him, and ruffled Aster's ears when he ran up to him begging to be pet.

It was a great feeling, and he couldn't help but smile.

"I really wonder what things smell like for dogs." Gilbert pondered, "I heard that they can smell a thousand times better than us."

"Is that even possible? Wouldn't that be a bit overwhelming?" Matthew said as he thought about it.

"I don't know. I read it out of some dumb magazine, so apparently it's true."

Matthew laughed. "You know…when you told me the dogs were going to be _tiny_…" he paused as Gilbert snorted at the memory, "I imagined that they were going to be something like, Shih Tzus. Or something. Chihuahuas, maybe."

Gilbert laughed. "Wow! Just imagine my brother owning a Chihuahua. I wonder if even he could manage to make something like that seem manly."

Matthew shook his head, "You're crazy. By the way, earlier you said something about Ludwig and Feliciano…?" Matthew couldn't help it, he was curious to know.

"Oh…" Gilbert waved his hand, making Matthew look at it with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I love making fun of him. Feli is one of his closest friends, so I love watching him squirm when I make him assume that they're more than that."

"You're an awful brother."

"Hey, I'm a brother you could never live without."

"I'm just glad you're not _my_ brother. You'd probably convince me that hugging one of my friends is the first step to my own personal gay experience."

"Well, I don't have to be your brother to do that. Thanks for giving me the idea though. Definitely going to use that for future reference."

"You know, sometimes I have a really hard time realizing that you're out of high school. You really don't act your age."

"Hey, you're not young forever."

"Yeah, but maybe you should at least not be immature forever?"

Matthew smiled and stuck his tongue out at Gilbert when he acted like he was offended. Then he realized what he was doing and quickly drew his tongue back in, feeling himself light up in embarrassment. Why had he just done that? What was he really trying to prove when he himself wasn't even acting his age? Sticking his tongue out at someone? It was completely juvenile.

Matthew looked away and his eyes fell upon something just as two of the three dogs disappeared down it.

His blood ran cold.

"Uh…that. That thing is…"

"It's a ravine?" Gilbert completed the sentence for him, watching Matthew's sudden change of behavior.

Matthew swallowed and took a step toward it. No, he called it something else.

A gorge.

It didn't look the same at all. Even though there was a stream at the bottom of the gorge, it wasn't as steep. He watched numbly as Berlitz and Aster ran through the stream, sending water flying in large waves. But there was no sound, except for Matthew's own staggered breathing.

He realized as the dread filled him on the inside that he was still afraid. He was still afraid of it all. It was just that one thing that really had to trigger his memories.

No, it wasn't the forest that he was entirely afraid of. It was the gorge. After all this time, it was the gorge that he was afraid to look at again. Or maybe it was just everything all together, all at once.

He knew that that he wouldn't be able to go any farther. Opening his mouth, he tried to find his voice. It sounded hoarse like he was sick.

"Gilbert…? I can't…I can't go any farther…"

Silence met his answer, and he slowly turned away to find Gilbert—

Gone.

Huh?

Matthew scrambled to his feet and looked around wildly. What was going on? The dog's were gone too. He was sure that Gilbert had been here a few seconds ago. No, he _knew_ Gilbert had been here just moments before.

No, this couldn't be happening. Where did they all go?

Matthew saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and he looked over. Berlitz. He was still there, sniffing something on the ground. His coat was covered in mud and dripping with water.

Gilbert and the two other dogs were gone, but at least Berlitz was still there. Right at that second, all that was running through his mind in a constant loop was, _don't be left alone, don't be left alone, don't be left alone—_

"B-Berlitz…" Matthew called to the dog quietly and began inching his way toward him. He didn't really know how to keep the dog there. He thought that his best bet would be to grab his collar and hold on.

Berlitz's head shot up and he looked over to a part of the forest that wasn't marked by a trail, his ears perked.

Matthew may not have ever owned a dog, but he knew that when a dog looked like that, there was a great chance they were getting ready to run.

In desperation, Matthew lunged forward and he tried to grab at the collar just as Berlitz shot off. He only managed to hook his index and middle finger around it, but his grasp slipped and he fell forward onto his hands and knees. He looked up to see the Rottweiler sprint off until he couldn't be seen anymore through the foliage.

"No…" Matthew whimpered as he stood up. He was scared. Involuntarily, he felt himself begin to tremble violently.

He was alone. Just like that day, three years ago.

He was alone.


	18. Chapter 18

"Oh my God…" Matthew whispered, "Oh my God…"

Matthew said the three words over and over again. Like they were going to help. Like they were going to fix everything.

He knew as soon as the ground had crumbled away that he should have said something. He knew he should have said something because he knew the ground was still weak from the recent rainfall. He knew the ground probably wouldn't hold his brother's weight.

But he didn't say anything, because he thought,

what were the chances?

And now he stood over the gorge, staring down into it. Down at the muddy slopes, down at the rocky bottom.

He knew he should have said something.

And he thought, what were the chances?

He stared down at the bottom of the gorge.

Just minutes earlier, he was laughing as his brother jumped from rock to rock across a stream, trying not to get his shoes wet.

Now, just minutes later, he was staring down at the mangled body that was lying on the bottom of the gorge, thinking,

but not wanting to

but still thinking

that Alfred

was probably

dead.

Matthew's eyes widened. He couldn't…

He had to get help…

He forced himself to turn away from the gorge and he staggered forward. Grabbing a tree to steady himself, he felt his breathing come out ragged.

"Help!" Matthew called out, desperate to hear an answer from someone, "HELP!"

The birds flew out of the trees, startled by his voice. Matthew began running up the path he and his brother had taken.

"Help!" Matthew screamed, "Somebody!"

He felt dizzy. The forest looked the same everywhere. Like he wouldn't be able to find his way out. Panicking, he looked up. Hadn't he just been on this trail? Where was he going? Was he lost?

"HELP!" Matthew screamed until his voice was hoarse. He felt like crying as he watched the sun sink lower in the sky.

He knew that if he didn't find someone fast…

His breathing was catching in his throat, and he felt like he was choking. He had no idea where he was, where he was going. He ran passed the trees, through the trails, but they all looked the same. Screaming for help, ignoring the pain it left his throat in.

No one.

He couldn't find anyone.

Where?

Where was everyone?

WHERE?

"HELP!"

"Matthew?"

Matthew whipped around. He was no longer in the forest from three years ago. The sun was shining through the trees, leaving speckled shadows on the ground, and the birds were all chirping songs to one another.

And standing in front of him with a very concerned look on his face…

Gilbert.

"Gilbert…" Matthew said quietly, as if daring his eyes to lie to him. "Gilbert?"

"Matthew, it's me." Gilbert said slowly, watching Matthew in confusion.

Matthew looked over. The gorge was still there. But it wasn't the same one. Then he looked back at Gilbert. He was still standing there, watching him.

Matthew became aware that he was breathing heavily, like he had just ran miles, and he was hugging his owns arms so tightly, they left white marks on his skin.

"Gilbert…" Matthew walked forward and reached out, clutching Gilbert's ragged t-shirt in his hands. Gilbert's eyebrows rose in surprise.

But he was real. He wasn't an illusion.

"Gilbert, where…where _were_ you?" Matthew asked, his voice breaking. "Where did you _go_?"

"Matthew, I just told you…Blackie had run off after some deer and I had to go and…Matthew, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Matthew ignored the question and looked down at Gilbert's t-shirt that he had in his hands. It was real. He was really there. He wasn't alone anymore. He could feel the fabric.

"Don't…don't do that again…" Matthew felt pathetic, but he couldn't help it. Leaning forward, he placed his head against Gilbert's chest in relief, "I was so scared…"

He felt Gilbert stiffen up in surprise, "Hey, shortie? Seriously, you're really freaking me out. Did something happen? You look like you saw a ghost…"

Matthew was silent as he shook his head. He could feel Gilbert's heartbeat, and it was so calming…

Gilbert sighed and raised his arms, placing one on the back of Matthew's head and the other onto his back.

"You're trembling…" he said quietly.

"I was scared…" Matthew replied.

It was minutes before they finally broke away from the embrace. Matthew's face was flushed slightly, and he wordlessly nodded when Gilbert asked him if he wanted to go back.

They didn't say anything to each other, except for when Matthew noticed that the dogs were gone. Gilbert told him that they ran after some deer, which had been the main reason he had run off in the first place. He told Matthew not to worry, since they usually came home after a while.

They walked through the field in silence, Gilbert looking at him out of the corner of his eye once in a while, as if making sure he didn't pull another surprise on him. Matthew knew Gilbert wanted to know why he had acted like that.

And when they had finally gotten back to his house, Matthew told him everything.

How it all started out as fun and games. He and Alfred had gone up to the woods back when they lived in Canada, and they were just messing around. How Matthew watched as the ground gave away from under his brother as he stood on the edge of the gorge. How when he looked down into the rocky bottom, he was sure his brother was dead. How stupid he was that he decided not to bring either of their cell phones with them, and how even though he knew the trails—all of them—by _heart_, he felt like he had been lost, and how he thought he would never manage to find anyone.

Gilbert was sitting on his bed next to Matthew as he listened in silence to him talk, the fear in his eyes when he reflected on his brother's lifeless body, the terror when he couldn't find anyone. Every time he thought about it, he was reliving it.

"Did you find someone?" Gilbert asked him quietly when Matthew fell silent.

"Yeah…" Matthew sighed, looking down at his lap, "There was a sister and brother up the trail a bit with their dog…they had a cell phone and they called for help…"

"And after that?"

"They went back with me to where Alfred was and we…" Matthew took a deep breath, "He was alive, but he had…broken his leg…pretty badly."

"So, what? Because of that, you have a fear of the woods or something?"

"No, I…" Matthew stopped and thought about it for a minute. His mind rewound itself to the week before when he and Alfred had gotten into the fight. "No, it's more like…well, I was diagnosed with a nervous disorder. If I'm put in a very stressful situation, or if I'm around anything that would make me remember what had happened, I freak out. My parents found out I had it when they tried to take us camping, and I couldn't go into the woods because I was afraid that…"

"That it would happen again?" Gilbert finished for him.

Matthew nodded.

There was a silence between them. Gilbert played with a string on his shirt as he lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Matthew stared out the window, looking at the blue sky. When they had walked into the house, neither bothered to turn on a light, and the only source was coming in through the window.

"Do you have to take medication for it or anything?"

Matthew shook his head. "No, I just have to…get over it basically…"

Gilbert sighed and put his hands on his face as if he were frustrated.

"Are you angry?" Matthew asked hesitantly, biting his lower lip.

"No…" Gilbert's hands slid off of his face and they fell limp onto the bed at his side, "I just wish you had told me earlier."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry, just…make sure you tell me in the future if we're about to do something that scares the crap out of you, okay?"

Matthew nodded and he looked down at his lap.

Gilbert sighed and stood up. Matthew watched him walk over to his bookshelf (Gilbert read?) and he pulled out a book. Walking back to Matthew, he handed it to him.

"This is a book I used to read all the time when I was younger. I loved it to death."

Matthew took the book and looked at it. It was a children's book, and it looked to be at least ten years old.

"_The Boy and the Bucket_?" Matthew read the title, a small smile on his face. The cover showed a small boy with light brown hair and wearing denim trousers, skipping down a sidewalk with a small blue sand bucket in his hand. "This was your favorite story?"

"Alright, before you even start, I'll just tell you to shut up now. Yes, yes it was my favorite story. Anyway, you should read it."

Matthew nodded and held the book. "I…I should go…" He said and hesitantly stood up. "Alfred's probably wondering where I am right now." He walked over toward the door, then he stopped and turned around, "Gilbert…thank you for listening…I, I've never really told anyone about this…"

Gilbert shrugged. Matthew was almost out of the room when he spoke again, "But I do want to know. That night during the party, you ran into the woods. Why weren't you scared?"

Matthew looked at Gilbert.

"I don't know…I was scared, but at the same time I was…" _worried about you_…Matthew added in his head. He blushed, unable to say the words out loud.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, but didn't push Matthew on the subject. After they had said goodbye to each other, Matthew drove home. When he arrived back at his house, he saw Alfred watching _The Hangover_ with Ivan and stuffing his face with pepperoni rolls.

"Hey! Mattie!" Alfred said joyfully, raising his half eaten roll in the air, "You wanna watch with us? We just started it!"

Matthew waved to Ivan and shook his head.

"No, I'm a little tired. I think I'll go to bed…"

"Awww, shame. What's that in your hands?"

"Oh…" Matthew raised the book as if realizing he had been holding it, "It's a book I picked up from the, uh, library."

Alfred gave him a weird look but then shrugged and continued eating the roll.

"Hopefully I'll see you on Thursday in hockey?" Ivan asked Matthew.

Matthew smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I wouldn't miss it…"

"Mattie, catch!" Alfred yelled suddenly, throwing one of the uneaten rolls at Matthew. Nearly dropping the book, he caught the roll and looked at Alfred incredulously.

"Gee, Alfred. Thanks."

"Don't mention it. You're a skinny boy."

"You're just weird." Matthew grimaced at Alfred, but when he turned away, he smiled.

He walked up the stairs and laid down on his bed. Thinking about all the events that happened in the day, Matthew figured that the day had turned out for the better, more or less. And maybe they could only get better…

Sighing, he opened the book and took a bite into the pepperoni roll as he began reading.

'_There once was a boy that loved nothing more than his blue plastic bucket…'_

**Wow, I…wow.**

**Fail.**

**Ugh. Sorry this was late.**

**And I swear. If any of you complain about this chapter being short, I will cut off heads.**

**P.S. The Boy and the Bucket isn't a real story. SORRY GUISE.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	19. Chapter 19

"_Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur_…" Gilbert sang as he stretched his arms over his head.

Matthew sat on the ground next to him, crossed legged and curled into a hoodie. It was a cold morning even though it was the summer.

"Do you really have to _sing_?" Matthew asked, still not completely awake.

"Damn, I'm sexy when I sing." Gilbert replied smoothly, "_The whole club was looking at her_~ Come on, back me up here!" Gilbert said and held his arms out at Matthew as if a cue for him to pick up singing where he had left off. Matthew only stared back, and Gilbert scoffed.

"Alright then. Let's try something simpler. _When I say jump, you say_—" Gilbert waved his hands excessively toward Matthew.

"How high." Matthew said monotonously, rolling his eyes.

"Now, _that's _what I'm talking about!" Gilbert said, clapping his hands in emphasized excitement.

"You are a sad, sad old man." Matthew grumbled.

"Old? Since when have I been _old_?" Gilbert asked as he stretched his hamstrings.

"I don't know…" Matthew said as he blinked tiredly, "you have white hair..."

"Hmmm…" Gilbert looked up at his own hair, "You're right. But I like my white hair."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Awww, grumpy pants." Gilbert said in a pouty tone. Matthew glared at him and slid his hands into the hoodie sleeves.

It was currently five in the morning. No, really. Matthew yawned as he watched Gilbert stretch. They were both on the Track at Hetalia International, Matthew's high school, and Gilbert's ex-high school. It all started Friday evening when Gilbert had called Matthew and asked him if he wanted to go for a morning jog with him on Saturday. Of course he thought Gilbert was joking around.

But when he sat on the track, watching him stretch, he realized that he really wasn't.

"Why so early in the morning…?" Matthew mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. He felt like he was going to collapse right on the spot.

"The early birdie gets the wormie~" Gilbert said casually, causing Matthew to grimace.

"I so don't get you…"

"You don't have to." Gilbert shrugged, "Just always remember that I am sexy, I get the girls, and no one can do it better than me."

"Yeah, okay…" Matthew replied sleepily and laid down on the grass next to the track. Why had he agreed to this? He was drifting in and out of sleep. And sparky boy over there was somehow not tired at all. He was in no mood to run.

"Come on shortie, wake up." Gilbert said and lightly kicked Matthew in the side with one of his running shoes.

"No…" Matthew mumbled, his mouth covered slightly by the collar of his hoodie, "It's, like, five in the fucking morning…"

Gilbert's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Oh, wow. When did you start using such colorful language?"

"Oh, I don't know." Matthew snapped, "Ever since I started hanging out with you?"

"Well, of course. But you see, I have a right. You're still a kid. I am a grown adult."

"You are _not_. You're not even old enough to drink yet."

"No, but I'm old enough to smoke. And I already drink anyway, so that doesn't matter."

"Oh, good for you!" Matthew said sarcastically and rolled over in the grass so his back was facing Gilbert. He didn't care how ridiculous he looked lying there. It was five in the morning, the sun wasn't up, and he was tired from having to work a late shift last night. He just wanted to sleep

"Shortie, I need youuu…" Gilbert whined and this time he shoved Matthew's back with his shoe.

Matthew groaned and tried to grab Gilbert's leg to stop him, and eventually gave up, his arm falling limply to his side.

"Why do you need me?" Matthew grumbled.

"So you're not going to run with me? I thought we planned this. Are you too sleepy?"

"Maybe."

"You're a baby. I bet you've never even run in your life." Gilbert sighed as if this were a big loss to him.

Matthew opened his mouth to disagree with that statement, then realized that Gilbert was half right—kind of, sort of. He had never really run in his life for a sport, but he skated for hockey, which was about the same thing…right?

"No, seriously, why are we out here at five in the morning?" Matthew asked again as he rolled over onto his back to look up at Gilbert.

Gilbert kneeled down next to him. "Well, you see, it's a bit like this. My parents have this thing called 'Tough Love' and they love using it on me, because unlike Ludwig –their model child—I have been a very, very bad boy. And so, basically, they've told me either I start making improvements in my life, or I'm going to get kicked out."

Matthew stopped rubbing his eyes and looked up at Gilbert in surprise. "What? Are you serious?"

"Ha. No." Gilbert said as he straightened up again, "Like they would ever kick _me_ out of the house. Well, my dad did that one time, but I was ten, and they had told me not to go after the skunk with a bat, but _anyway_, I just felt like going for a run."

"At five in the morning."

"Well, more or less. And also, Ludwig kind of, sort of threatened to kick my ass if I don't try to improve my knee…"

"Wow, you'd let your younger brother take advantage of you?"

"Look, it's not my fault that he's a body builder, kay? Kay. He may have inherited the muscle, but damn, I inherited the looks."

"You inherited _albino_."

"No kidding."

"Doesn't that mean that your skin has, like, no pigments? Or something?"

"Don't you pay attention in school? Albinism is when, yes, your skin has hardly any or no color pigments." Gilbert explained, sounding rather professional.

"And your hair turns white?"

"It doesn't turn white, it _is_ white. Because it has no pigments either."

"So do you get sun burnt really easily?"

"Yup. I have to wear an SPF of 125."

"You're a liar. It doesn't really go that high."

"Yeah, and that's what she said."

"What?"

"What, nothing. Since I see that you're too lazy to actually run with me, you will be given the lovely job of counting how many laps I can run before my knee gives out."

"Isn't that going to hurt?" Matthew asked hesitantly.

"Fuck yeah it is. But I have to do it, because it's my utmost duty to get better."

"…or else your brother will kick your ass."

"Well, that doesn't count."

"And is running on it really going to help? That sounds like it'll only make it worse…"

"Well, it might, but it'll give me an idea if it's gotten any better." Gilbert turned around and began walking away on the track. "I'm going to start running soon, okay?"

"Okay." Matthew replied watching Gilbert as he walked away. It was curious, really. Over six billion people in the world and each one had their own individual walk. Taking Gilbert for example, Matthew had never seen anyone walk like him. The way he walked so casually, even though you could see the hint of a limp in his step, and how he had his left hand placed loosely against his hip, which was located closely to his as-

Matthew gasped slightly and looked away. What kind of shameful person had he become? He felt like a pervert.

And with _Gilbert_? Why had it been that for the past weeks, all he could think about was him? Of all people? It was kind of reminded him of a song sung by some chick he had heard on the radio before.

_I'm all strung out, my heart is fried, I just can't get you off my mind~_

Matthew stopped, his eyes widening.

Whoa there.

Wait a minute…

No _way_.

No way in hell. Or heaven. Or earth. Where they were currently, and hopefully where they would still to be a while.

He couldn't have just realized this _now_. He had been like this for _weeks_. Sure, so maybe there had more times than once that he had agreed to do things before simply because his heart sped up in anticipation, making his mind get jumbled, unable to say 'no' because he really wanted to say 'yes' deep down. Even if it was a bad idea.

Like the party. Like painting the school. Like walking in the woods…

Why had he? Oh yeah, that's right. Because he could never say no around Gilbert.

But that surely didn't mean anything…did it?

Okay, so maybe he got a _little_ lonely when Gilbert wasn't around…

But it wasn't like he thought about Gilbert all the time. Okay, maybe a little...or a lot…

Matthew felt himself sinking into his hoodie, wanting to shrivel up. There was no way.

No way at all.

He couldn't possibly…

love…Gilbert…?

Love?

"Auuuuuggghhh…" Matthew groaned and buried his face in his hands. Why did he suddenly have to realize this now?

"Something wrong, shortie?"

Matthew slowly removed his hands, and was face to face with Gilbert.

"Uwargh!" Matthew yelped out attractively as he fell backward in shock.

Gilbert grinned, "Well, jeez. Wimp."

Matthew tried to calm his racing heart. "Gi-Gil? W-why aren't you running…?"

"Well, I _was_, but then I saw that you weren't even paying attention, so I don't really see what the point would have been." Gilbert gave him a look that was apparently supposed to make him feel guilty, but instead he was realizing in horror how attractive Gilbert looked. Everything. Even down to his eyebrows.

"Well, damn. If only you could see your face! It's so red. You think you have a fever?"

"Ah, no, I'm fine! Really fine! Why wouldn't I be? Hahahaha…" Matthew instantly wanted to punch himself. Why did he have to laugh nervously like a dork all of a sudden?

Gilbert raised an eyebrow and nodded his head slowly, the smirk never leaving his face. "Are you sure? You don't want me to _check_ do you?" And he began raising his hand to Matthew's forehead, to which he promptly smacked away. He stood up in a flash.

"I'm _fine_." Matthew snapped, and spun around. He had to get out of there, _fast_. But Gilbert was standing in front of him again in a matter of seconds.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"…for a walk." Matthew tried to answer this calmly, but his voice came out quiet. Oh, and it sounded squeaky. Well, great. Matthew tried to walk around Gilbert, but he only side stepped in front of him.

"Why this all of a sudden?" Gilbert asked casually, blocking Matthew's path a third time.

"Oh, well, you know, it's just an urge, and—Gilbert, can you please _move_!" Matthew snapped when Gilbert once again moved in front of his way.

"Why? I think you're acting awfully _strange_. Besides, what are you going to do? Yell at me?" Gilbert asked coyly.

"Ye—No! Just _move_!" Matthew did a one eighty and began walking in the opposite direction, only to have Gilbert suddenly pop up in front of him again. How was he moving so fast?

"Look, I _swear_," Matthew tried to say threateningly, and he raised a finger, pointing it at Gilbert, "if you don't move out of my way…"

Gilbert grabbed Matthew's pointed hand at the wrist, "What? What are you going to do?"

Matthew tried to rip his arm out of Gilbert's grasp, but Jesus, he was strong. Matthew lifted his free hand to try and pry his wrist away, but Gilbert caught that one with his other hand.

"Oh, you—urgh—are so—mph—dead!" Matthew growled out as he tried to wrestle his poor captive wrists free from Gilbert's hold.

"I don't think you're in any position to threaten me." Gilbert said happily and leaned over until there faces were just inches apart.

"You…" Matthew trailed off as he looked at Gilbert. He was so close. _So close_.

"You what?"

"You…shouldn't…" Oh God, he was melting faster than jelly. But wait, could jelly even melt? He was getting his metaphors mixed up! Were they even called metaphors? GAH!

They were silent for a moment as they only stared at each other. Matthew felt lost, and so captivated. He couldn't look away.

Gilbert stared back at him, and his mouth twitched at the corners. Leaning forward slowly he was inched forward, and Matthew slowly lifted his chin toward him, and—

Matthew nearly had a heart attack when a loud beeping noise suddenly went off. Gilbert let go of Matthew's wrists and turned his head away, sighing, while Matthew looked down.

His heart was still beating wildly, but not from the interruption. No, from what had almost happened.

What _had_ happened? Matthew couldn't think clearly. He watched as Gilbert pulled out a beeper from his shorts pocket, and looked irritated as he read over the message.

"The hell…" Gilbert made a noise that resembled growling and he shoved the beeper back into his pocket. "I have to go. Apparently someone out there decided they needed to get their car towed on the morning of my day off."

"O-oh…" Matthew stuttered out, "Okay, yeah…okay…" How was Gilbert so calm? Had he not felt the…the…ATMOSPHERE?

Gilbert looked at Matthew, "Do you need a ride home? I can drop you off really fast before I get to my dad's place."

Matthew shook his head vigorously.

"No, I'm fine! I'll just stay and, um, you know…"

He blushed. Why couldn't he just talk normal? He felt like his heart was about to explode.

But Gilbert only smirked at him and reached forward, ruffling his hair.

As if it didn't look bad enough, since he had just woken up, now he had disarrayed hair to deal with. Gilbert turned and walked away, leaving Matthew feeling like he was about to collapse.

He watched Gilbert get into his car and pull out of the parking lot, raising his hand and waving to Matthew before he exited the school grounds. Matthew gave a hesitant wave back and Gilbert disappeared as he sped away.

Once he was gone, Matthew didn't know what to do. He suddenly felt awake. More awake than ever. God, he felt like electricity was coursing through his veins. He felt jumpy, and he couldn't stand still. Without even thinking, he shot forward and began sprinting as fast as he could on the track. He kept sprinting, his thoughts too far behind to catch up, and he only pushed himself forward even when his lungs screamed in desperation.

He was surprised at how naturally running came to him. He knew it was probably because he was already physically fit from doing hockey, but God. This was different.

He felt like he could go on forever. He felt like he didn't ever have to stop. He felt like he could fly if he wanted to.

And it was all because of something that almost happened.

**I'm very, VERY tired, and I posted this chapter on a limb. I have craploads of studying to do. So I probably won't post the next chapter until Monday.**

**The two songs Gilbert sings in this chapter (if you didn't recognize them, LAWL.)**

**Low - Flo Rida**

**Jump - Flo Rida  
**

**Thank you for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**OH CRAP. A DECADE TIMES TWO!**

**Mhm. Who's tired? I AM!  
**

**(P.s. Thank you MegantheNerd for correcting me on a grammatical error in Chapter 19. Matthew does in fact only turn one hundred eighty degrees instead of three hundred sixty :D I have now corrected it, thank you!)**

**ENJOY CHAPTER TWENTY. WHOA.**

Matthew woke up the next morning with his legs feeling extremely sore.

At first, he was confused. Why did his legs feel like someone had repeatedly hit them with a baseball bat?

Then he remembered.

Oh yeah. That.

He blushed, and buried his face into the pillow.

Thanks to the little revelation he had yesterday morning, he had run until he could barely even walk anymore.

He was thinking about everything that had happened between him and…_Gilbert_.

Thinking back on it, he had known Gilbert for nearly over a month. Of course, he had known him before, since Francis was best friends with him, but he hadn't started to actually _know_ the Gilbert that he knew now up until recently.

And that was it. They knew each other for only so long, and already Matthew knew, no matter how much he denied it, that he had fallen for Gilbert Beilschmidt.

But, he couldn't help but wonder. How could he have possibly been so oblivious of it up until now? How could he have known Gilbert for five weeks, and then _bam,_ suddenly realized out of no where that he loved him?

But when? When had it all started? When had it changed from Matthew telling himself that he and Gilbert were friends, and then it became something more? When had it been that Gilbert's smile made his heart beat fast? When had it all started that all he could think about was Gilbert? And even when they weren't together, how empty he felt?

Love…

Love was such a weird word. Sure, everyone says the word at least once a day, but Matthew thought to himself, when it's actually you that's in love…it means something else.

Matthew stared out the window from his bed, his chin on the pillow. He had thought about this for hours the night before and wondered to himself, when had he fallen in love with Gilbert?

Even though the memory was so hazy (because he just _had_ to be a little tipsy, go figure.) he was pretty sure that he had fallen for Gilbert the night of the party. The night when he had to run after him when he had screamed at Matthew, "Maybe I'm just trying to keep you from being with someone like me."

Matthew bit his lip and hid his face in the pillow again. He felt girly. Very _very_ girly. And it didn't help.

That Gilbert.

Was a guy.

No matter how he looked at it.

Even if he tilted his head slightly, it wasn't like a painting that changed in perspective. The situation at hand was still the same.

Matthew was a guy also.

Matthew wasn't any psychic. He wasn't like those people he heard about that claimed they knew their sexual orientation ever since they were eight years old. He had honestly never given it much thought.

What were the common stereotypes? That someone like him couldn't shower with other guys or be in locker room with them?

But all Matthew knew, or from what he could recall, was that when he had never found an interest in guys when they were changing. Not that it mattered a whole lot or anything, but he had never gone into the changing room and just stare. He never felt strange seeing a guy with no shirt on, or anything of that matter.

Well, and Matthew felt his stomach flip slightly, except for Gilbert. And he had only seen glimpses of his stomach. Most of the guys in hockey practice stripped down to their boxers.

And had he ever been interested in women?

The first person he thought of was Katyusha. He thought long and hard, delving into his mind for anything, anything at all. And he came up with nothing. Had his heart felt like he was speeding up when he saw her? No, not that he could recall. Did the thought of her make him feel weird inside? No…

Of course, she was incredibly attractive. And no one could deny that someone that had a chest as large as hers could make _anyone_ blush. But all that came up was that she was one of his best friends, like a mother to him.

Thinking about it, this was probably the first time he had ever fallen for someone. This was all so new to him. Hence why he probably hadn't realized he was even in love with Gilbert until weeks after it had all started.

So was this it?

Was it really true?

"I'm…gay?" Matthew whispered out loud, as if asking himself would give some clarity.

"I'm gay." He said again.

That was who he was.

He was gay.

He liked men.

No.

He liked _Gilbert_.

He had been so sure that when he said those words out loud that something would happen. That his life would somehow automatically change. That he would feel like a completely different person. But nothing happened. Everything in his room stayed the way it was, and he felt like himself.

He didn't feel gay. He still felt like Matthew.

He wondered why he wasn't freaking out. Why he wasn't freaking out about the sudden realization that he was most likely gay.

Maybe he was in shock, and it was all going to hit him at once in a few hours or so.

Oh. Well.

Taking a deep breath, Matthew got up out of his bed and walked downstairs. He saw Alfred in the kitchen eating a healthy meal of Cheetos for breakfast.

"You're up."

"Yup." Matthew replied as he reached into the fridge for some Orange juice. He glanced at Alfred, wondering if his brother would notice anything different about him. Like, you know, your twin brother suddenly realized he was into guys. But Alfred only gave him a weird look as Matthew shuffled toward the cupboard to get a glass.

"Did something happen yesterday? You're walking funny."

"Oh, that." _Yes, something did happen. I found out that I've fallen in love with a guy_, "I was just running yesterday."

"Running?"

Matthew finished pouring the juice and he took a sip out of the glass. "Yup."

"Since when do you run? I thought hockey had always been your thing."

Matthew put the orange juice back in the fridge and closed the door with his foot. "Oh, you know. Conditioning. Kind of like what you do for football."

Alfred was giving him a weird look like he had just sprouted wings. Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"Is it really that weird?"

"No, I just can't imagine you running."

"Oh, wow. Thanks."

But Matthew had to admit that Alfred was right. Alfred was the jock. Not Matthew. Matthew played hockey, but he didn't spend a majority of his time on it. Matthew was extremely talented in hockey, and he relied on his skill alone. He didn't work out for the sport in his spare time. Compared to Alfred who was constantly on his feet doing something. That was probably why when compared in muscle mass, Matthew did have muscle, there was no denying, but he was more lean. Alfred was a little taller than him, and his abs were something to be reckoned with. He was definitely the more muscular of the two.

"Are you working today?" Alfred asked.

Matthew shook his head. "I have Sunday's off."

"Awesome. I have to work the early shift, so I won't be home until around four. Can you drive the car over to get it inspected? They called earlier, and they want it around one."

Matthew shrugged and placed his cup in the sink. "That's fine. I'm not really doing anything today." _Except trying to think figure out my love life situation_.

"Awesome. Thanks Mattie!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and gave a half hearted wave as Alfred went out the door. He noticed that Alfred was wearing his lifeguard shirt. If he was going to work now, how long had he slept in till?

Matthew looked at the clock on the wall. It was eleven in the morning. Of course he would sleep in. Sitting down on the island that they had located in the kitchen, Matthew rested his chin on his hand.

So he loved Gilbert. Not that he had already established that a hundred times, but…

Did Gilbert…love him?

Matthew blushed, thinking about the _almost_ kiss. Did he really love him? He had tried to _kiss_ him, for God's sake!

And it wasn't only that, but how disappointed Matthew had felt afterwards when their almost kiss never happened. It had been like a small sliver of hope had died within him

"Oh my God…" Matthew groaned and closed his eyes. This was all becoming too real for him quite quickly. And it didn't help that he was very confused.

The sound of the phone ringing caused him to jump. Reaching over, he picked it up and looked at the caller ID.

It was Gilbert.

Speaking of that albino devil…

Matthew's breath started coming out quicker as he stared at the number on the screen.

He pressed his thumb lightly on the 'TALK' button and was about to push it down, but he hesitated.

Biting his lip, he placed the phone down on the counter and didn't answer it.

He didn't know why, but just thinking about it. How it had all become too real to him, and what had happened yesterday, he felt scared. Scared of all the possibilities.

And he barely knew Gilbert. Well, he knew enough about him, but he also knew rumors. Rumors like how he played around with people's feelings. Hell, he had done it to Matthew more than once.

So, what? So, to Gilbert, was yesterday nothing more than a game to him?

It had to be…Matthew sighed when the phone stopped ringing. Gilbert was so popular, he could get with anyone that he wanted. Not to mention with those looks…and Matthew? He was just some plain nobody. Sure, he had been something much more back when they lived in Canada, but after Alfred had broken his leg, Matthew began to feel less inclined to talk to other people.

He thought back to when he had fought with Alfred. Maybe his brother was right. Maybe Gilbert really was someone he shouldn't be hanging out with. After all, what had he and Gilbert done that hadn't somehow ended in some sort of hectic mess?

The phone rang, and Matthew saw it was Gilbert calling again. He quickly pressed 'IGNORE' and stood up, grabbing the car keys, before he could register what he had just done.

By Monday, when Matthew got home from work, he saw that there were three missed calls from Gilbert.

On Tuesday, there were two.

On Wednesday, five.

Thursday, one.

Friday, none.

Each day that Matthew looked at the missed calls, it felt like his heart was being crushed.

Since he had started ignoring the calls, he didn't want to admit that all he really did was go to work, then come home and aimlessly surf through the channels on the television. It was amazing how just one person had taken up so much of his life.

Even Alfred had noticed something was up with him. Sure, maybe he was a little closed off from the people around him at times, but not like _this_. He offered Matthew to come with him several times to hang out with his friends during the week, but Matthew declined each time. It didn't help that his brother's voice echoed in his head, _"Shit…why the hell are you hanging out with someone like him?"_

He knew he was in love with someone that would probably break his heart. He just felt like it was going to happen. But each time he saw the missed calls, it took everything he had to not call back.

"Mattie, seriously dude. You're like, depressed."

"Huh?" Matthew had been zoned out as he stared out the window. He looked over at his brother, who was eating a hamburger that he had picked up from McDonalds.

"Seriously. I don't know when it started, but now all you do is go to work and then come home and watch TV. It's depressing, bro. What the hell happened?"

Matthew shrugged and stabbed his salad aimlessly with his fork. He wasn't all that hungry these days either. And when he had gone to hockey practice, the coach had yelled at him several times for missing shots that were right under his nose.

Alfred watched him for a moment, then finished off the hamburger before he stood up and murmured that he was off to work.

The next day was Saturday. Matthew didn't have work and he was sitting at home doing what he usually did those days. Wander around like a zombie and watch infomercials.

The phone rang, and Matthew knew that it was most likely going to be Gilbert. When Gilbert called, it was usually when Alfred wasn't home, but Matthew hadn't planned for Alfred to not be working today. He heard the glass door from the backyard slide open, and Alfred walk in the kitchen toward the phone. Matthew literally leapt off the couch and sprinted into the kitchen.

"Alfred, don't answer that—!"

"Hello?" Alfred said into the phone, giving Matthew a weird look. Matthew prayed that it wouldn't be Gilbert. He prayed that it was somebody else. But he realized that his prayers weren't answered when Alfred said huffily into the phone, "No, this isn't Matthew, who's calling? Oh, I see… Yeah, he's home… No, you can't talk to him. Mhm…yeah, okay…"

Matthew wanted to slink away as Alfred glared at him venomously.

"Mhm…yeah…Buh-bye now." And Alfred hung up the phone, glaring at Matthew.

"Gilbert just called."

"Uh, yeah…yeah…"

"He's the reason you're like this, isn't he?"

Alfred stared at him and Matthew looked away, searching for something to say in his defense. He came up with nothing, and Alfred scoffed in disgust.

"You know what? Forget it." And he threw the phone at his brother before walking back out onto the patio.

Matthew caught the phone, holding it shakily in his hands. Right at that moment, he would have given anything to go back in time and not skip Biology class that one day in school. That way, he would have probably been able to avoid Gilbert, and have never gotten to know him.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Matthew woke up early. As if on instinct, he got out of his bed and like a madman, he searched through his clothing drawers until he found his swimming trunks. Putting them on, he grabbed a towel and a t-shirt and then walked outside, making sure not to run into Alfred on the way. Walking into the Jacuzzi house, he walked over to where the CD player was located and saw that Alfred had left his iPod plugged into the dock. Turning it on Shuffle, an upbeat rap song began blasting through the speakers. He didn't bother turning it down and walked out of Jacuzzi house, throwing his towel and shirt on a random lawn chair before jumping into the pool.

The water was cold, but he kicked to the surface and began swimming. He didn't know why, but for the past days, he had felt numb, and he wanted nothing more than to feel something. Even if it were pain and the frigid cold. He had to feel it.

He swam back and forth, the music changing from Rap to hip hop to some eighties rock song, to indie rock. He didn't listen to the music, but he kept it playing, as if it were serving as a distraction to him.

He didn't know how long he had swam, but when he finally got out of the pool, and listened as some energetic hip-hop single by Pitbull was playing, the sun had risen higher in the sky.

Trying to catch his breath, he felt the tell tale ache in his arm and shoulder muscles and he couldn't help but grin in satisfaction. Lying down in the lawn chair, he stared at the pool and watched as the waves lazily moved back and forth, the sun reflecting off the water. He watched as his wet footprints from walking out of the pool evaporated right before his eyes. The sun was making him feel sleepy, and he closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.

"You're going to get heatstroke if you keep that up."

The voice was so familiar, Matthew was sure that he was dreaming it. He opened his eyes slowly and looked over at the figure sitting on the lawn chair next to him. He squinted and placed his hand in front of his eyes.

"Gilbert…?" He asked quietly, his voice dry.

"Who else?"

Matthew looked at him in a daze for a moment. Gilbert was looking calmly back at him.

His first thought was that it was a dream. But when he felt the wind blow through his hair that was now nearly dry, he realized that it was all real. His eyes widened and he stood up quickly. Too fast, since the blood rushed to his head for a moment, and placed a hand on it, steadying himself.

"What…How did you get inside…?" Matthew asked blankly.

"I knocked on the front door, but since there was no answer, I decided to come in through the back, since I heard the music playing. So I decided to let myself in the backyard. I decided that I would check up on your since you know, you haven't been answering my phone calls"

Matthew would've felt creeped out had it been anyone else, but it was Gilbert. Gilbert did stuff like this.

"Uh…" Was all Matthew could muster up in response.

"You know, it's weird." Gilbert continued calmly, "If I had known that you didn't want to talk to me that badly, then maybe you know, you could've told me, instead of just completely ignoring my calls, you know?"

"Uh…just…" Matthew closed his eyes, the sun and music combined now giving him a headache. "Just a second…" He grabbed his t-shirt and put it on as he walked into the Jacuzzi house to turn off the music. When he was inside the small building, he stood very still in horror. Gilbert was here. Gilbert was at his house. When he had been calling him, it had been easier to just ignore the calls. But here, when the actual person was standing in front of him, looking _pissed as hell_, despite his calm sounding voice, it was a different story entirely.

He turned off the music and put the shirt on before he walked out of the building and made his way back to Gilbert, feeling his impending doom already.

"Uh…hey…Gilbert…" Matthew said weakly. After not seeing Gilbert for nearly a week, he suddenly realized all the emotions that he had shoved down below all the numb feeling. He wanted to reach out and touch Gilbert. He wanted to graze his fingers over Gilbert's cheek.

Gilbert only stared at him. Even though he was still sitting, Matthew felt like he were shrinking under his gaze.

"You know, am I missing out on something? Did I do something to completely piss you off?"

"No, I just—"

"You want to know something? I could have sworn that you were perfectly fine last week, but apparently not, since you decided not to get back at me for an entire week..."

"Gilbert, I—"

"Do you even have an explanation?"

Matthew opened his mouth, but no words came out. Why was Gilbert being so demanding?

Gilbert stared at him for a moment, and when Matthew didn't say anything, he sighed and stood up, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, whatever. I can see that you don't want me here, so I'll just leave." He turned around and began walking away.

"Ah! Wait, no! Gilbert!" Matthew ran forward and grabbed his arm at the elbow, wrapping his arms around it. He suddenly had the urge to hug Gilbert, to see if it felt nice.

Gilbert stopped and stood still, his back to Matthew. Matthew opened his mouth to say something—anything—but nothing came out.

Because what could he say? That he hadn't answered Gilbert's calls because of some rumors he had heard about him? Was that really what he wanted to say?

"Whatever…" Gilbert said and began to walk away again. Matthew gripped the back of his shirt tightly with his other hand.

"N-no, please! I love you!"

Matthew felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. Had he really, honestly, just said that out loud? His eyes never wavered as he looked at Gilbert. But he only turned his head slightly in Matthew's direction.

"Really? Then why would you love someone and not call them back?"

Matthew looked down, the words spilling out of his mouth, "I-I don't know, I…I just wanted to…I…when I saw your number…" He moved his other hand from Gilbert's elbow, and now he was nervously kneading his hands into Gilbert's shirt. Why hadn't he really? Did he really just not call Gilbert back because he was afraid of what an influence he was going to be?

No…it suddenly hit him.

"I was…I'm scared…" Matthew said quietly. He slowly let go of the shirt and looked down. He felt like he was going to cry. He was scared. Scared that this was all just a mistake. Scared that he was about to get laughed at or scorned upon.

Scared.

He saw Gilbert turn around from the corner of his eye, but he didn't dare to look up. He didn't want to see the look of disgust on Gilbert's face, or maybe the look of him about to burst out laughing. He closed his eyes, waiting for Gilbert to hit him where it hurt the most.

"So am I."

Matthew looked up at Gilbert and saw him staring down at him with a soft smile.

Then his jaw dropped.

"You—! You were just pretending, weren't you!" Matthew exclaimed. He couldn't believe it. He absolutely couldn't.

Gilbert's smile grew. "Hey, I learn from the best. Francis always knew that when he wanted to get the girl, all he had to do was play a few tricks."

Matthew's jaw dropped open. And at the same time, he only felt two things going through his entire body. Relief, and one hell of a blush.

"What-you _tricked _me! I really honestly thought you were mad at me!" Matthew reached forward and tried to hit Gilbert on his arm.

Gilbert laughed and held his arms out to block Matthew from hitting him anymore. But Matthew only bit his lip and looked down.

"So, you're not…you're not mad at me…?"

"No. I am."

Matthew looked up at him confused. But hadn't he just said…?

"_This_ is for not answering my calls." And before Matthew could react, he was shoved backward into the pool.

When he resurfaced, his expression could only be described as an 'Oh no he didn't' face. He was greeted to Gilbert leaning over with his hands on his knees, laughing like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, okay! I see where this is going!" Matthew snapped and swam to the edge as fast as he could, latching his hand onto Gilbert's wrist.

"Yeah, real—" and he tugged with all of his might, "_mature_!"

Gilbert let out a little 'Whoa!' of surprise before he finally lost his balance and fell in. Matthew grinned in victory.

When Gilbert's head broke the surface, Matthew couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked, even when his hair was wet and pressed to his face. Flushing, he turned away and began walking toward the shallow end of the pool to get out. His shirt was weighing him down slightly as he walked out of the pool.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Gilbert called out, and Matthew heard the splashes as he hurried over to his side, "Just where do you think you're going in such a hurry?"

"Oh, nowhere. Away from you." Matthew replied, trying to hide his grin. He went to walk around Gilbert but just like last Saturday, Gilbert stepped in front of him.

"Oh, well that's a shame." Gilbert said, with a grin on his face. He was really getting a kick out of the whole, step-in-Matthew's-way-each-time-he-tries-to-get-around-you.

"Huh, I don't think it really is."

"Well, how about this. You do me one small favor before you run away from me?"

"What kind of favor?" Matthew asked, his voice getting quieter. He had a strange feeling that it was going to be anything but a small favor.

"Well, you know…" Gilbert's voice got quieter, and slightly more serious. The smile became more genuine as he reached forward and pushed some of Matthew's hair away from his face. Matthew felt his heart speed up at the touch. "We never finished what we had started on Saturday…"

Then Gilbert leaned in and kissed him.

It caught Matthew off guard at first. It felt like it wasn't real, like he wasn't really being kissed by Gilbert, but as he closed his eyes and lifted his arms up and wrapped them around Gilbert's neck, he realized, _This is real. This is actually happening._ How soft Gilbert's lips felt, and how warm they were. _It was real_.

When they pulled back, Matthew opened his eyes slowly, and stared at Gilbert for a few seconds. Gilbert stared back, and at the same time, they both smiled.

Matthew was the one who bridged the distance between the both of them this time. He picked up the faint taste of chlorine on Gilbert as he kissed him. But he didn't mind.

**WELL JESUS.**

**Not that this chapter was hard to write. OR ANYTHING.**

**I think I've failed you all ;A; Auuuuugggghhh…**

**But thank you for reading all the same!**


	21. Chapter 21

**WHO PASSED LIFEGUARD TRAINING?**

**I DID.**

**WOO!**

**Enjoy Chapter 21. The legal drinking age. CHUG CHUG CHUG!**

Matthew was sitting on the island in the kitchen waiting for Gilbert to come out of the bathroom. He tapped his fingers on the counter, feeling restless, but not in a bad way.

By the time he and Gilbert had pulled apart after their second kiss, they had stared at each other for a while until Gilbert commented that his clothing was soaked through. Matthew laughed and told him to come inside. Upon entering the house, Gilbert not only freaked out about how it looked even better on the inside than he had imagined, but he exclaimed on such things as, "You guys have a fucking marble staircase!" Which at this point in Matthew's life, he had taken for granted.

Matthew shooed him into the bathroom on the first floor and went to get him a change of clothing. Upon entering his bedroom, Matthew came to the conclusion that Gilbert probably wouldn't fit into his clothing, since he was a good head taller than him. At first he hesitated, but since he was still mad at Alfred for not giving him the phone when Gilbert called, (Even though he probably would have just hung up on him anyway, go figure.) Matthew didn't feel guilty at all when he opened the door connecting their bedrooms and pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and an Abercrombie shirt from his clothing drawers. It wasn't like he was going to miss it anyway.

Matthew grabbed his own change of clothes and went back down the stairs. He had no idea what Gilbert was going to do for underwear, and he figured if he wanted to borrow a pair of Matthew's, he could ask. But unless that happened, Matthew thought while his face turned red in embarrassment, he wouldn't bring it up.

After Matthew handed Gilbert the clothing and changed into his own, he went into the kitchen and waited for Gilbert. Even though his hair was still wet, it felt stringy and dry from the chlorine.

He heard the bathroom door open and looked over at Gilbert as he came into view, wearing the clothing Matthew had lent him, and holding his sopped clothing in his other hand.

"Where should I put these?" Gilbert asked.

"Here, I'll put them in the dryer." Matthew offered, holding out his arms.

After Gilbert handed him the clothing, he looked over at the kitchen counters, and then their huge industrial refrigerator/freezer.

"You know, I'm really hungry…" Gilbert began, obviously trying not to sound like he wanted to steal their food. Matthew couldn't help but sigh.

"Go ahead and eat whatever."

Gilbert's eyes lit up like it was Christmas day. "Really? Like, really really?"

"Really really." Matthew grinned, rolling his eyes before he turned away and walked down into the basement. He threw the clothing into the dryer (Blushing when he spotted Gilbert's black boxers among the pile) and went back upstairs. Gilbert did not hesitate, and already he was looking through the fridge.

"Are you sure your parents won't mind?" Gilbert asked as he looked at a mini frozen pizza before putting it on the counter.

Matthew sat back down on the island. "Alfred already eats his weight in food, and he has friends over all the times. Besides, it's not like my parents will notice anything's missing."

"Speaking of parents…" Gilbert said as he pulled out a frozen burrito and placed it on the counter next to the frozen pizza, "Are they working or something?"

"Yeah, probably. Why?"

Gilbert shrugged. "My parents don't work on Sundays, so I was just wondering."

"Lucky…" Matthew said in a slightly bitter tone.

"Lucky?" Gilbert turned around and gave him a weird look with a raised eyebrow. "Why should I feel lucky?"

Matthew flushed slightly, realizing he had said that out loud. "Uh, it's just…well, my parents are never really home…"

"Do they travel overseas or something?"

"Well, they travel a lot, but not overseas. Sometimes they aren't home for days, and even then, they come home really late at night."

"Oh…" Gilbert said, and if Matthew didn't know better, he would have thought that Gilbert looked guilty, but he had no clue why. In reality, Gilbert was thinking back to when he had met up with Francis. So _that's _what he meant that Matthew had to basically raise himself…

"Uh…" Gilbert didn't know what to say. Here he was, complaining about having to constantly see his parents, and then Matthew hardly saw his. He felt pretty damn awful, and that usually didn't happen, "I'm sorry…"

Matthew looked taken aback, but he shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He said quickly, having no clue that Gilbert was apologizing for more than just one thing. "It's not that big a deal…" Matthew knew he was speaking a lie, but he didn't want anyone's pity.

Gilbert reached into the fridge, opening a Pepsi. He really wasn't holding back on the offer, Matthew thought to himself in amusement.

"So, where's your brother that hates me dearly?" Gilbert asked, taking a sip of the soda.

"Alfred's at work." Matthew said, taking a few grapes from the fruit bowl in the middle of the island and popping them in his mouth, "Why?"

Gilbert shrugged and put the pizza in the microwave, setting the timer before answering, "I don't know. Just figured he was going to be here. He bitched at me when I called on Saturday.

"I know, I was standing right there." Matthew said, trying not to remember.

"Really?"

"Yeah…he wouldn't give me the phone…"

"Well, that explains things." Gilbert paused as if thinking for a moment, and then, "I've never actually met Alfred in real life. What does he look like?"

Matthew blinked. "Gil, he's my _twin_. What do you think?"

Gilbert smirked. "So you're going to call me by my nickname now?"

Matthew blushed. "Shut up."

"Why? It's cute."

"Wha…" Matthew was at a loss for words. Had Gilbert seriously just called him _cute_? CUTE?

Gilbert leaned across the counter and lightly shoved him on the forehead with the palm of his hand. Matthew gave him a cross look.

"What?"

"You know what." Matthew snapped.

"Actually, I don't." Gilbert beamed at him, and Matthew didn't know if he wanted to kiss him or punch him. Maybe both. But instead, Gilbert straightened up and walked over to the microwave, pulling the pizza out onto a plate.

"Just because you two are twins doesn't mean you look exactly alike. Feliciano and Lovino look a little different, even though they're identical."

Gilbert had a point. Lovino's hair was darker while Feliciano's was a more light brown. Matthew thought for a moment before he answered.

"Well, his hair is shorter…he has a lighter eye color than I do, and he's a little taller than me. Aside from that and personality, we look similar."

Gilbert bit into his small feast and paused for a moment.

"How does he have a lighter eye color than you?"

Matthew was surprised. Not a lot of people picked up on that right away. Sure, he had casually snuck in that little bit of information on the eyes just for fun to see if he would notice, but he didn't think he was going to.

"We're not sure, really. They say that identical twins should have the same eye color because of genetics, or something like that…" Matthew grimaced. He didn't like science. "Apparently it's really rare, but it's possible. So Alfred and I were born with different eye colors."

"Isn't that Heterochromia?"

"No. It's similar though, I think."

"Weird…what color is Alfred's eyes?"

"Like…dark blue."

"And yours?"

"Uh…" Matthew wasn't sure. He didn't usually look in the mirror and examine his eye color. However, his eyes widened in surprise when Gilbert walked over toward him and leaned in _super close_, looking at his eyes.

"Whoa!" Gilbert exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting up. "They're purple! Like a blue purple! I seriously thought I was tripping or high or something when I saw your eye color earlier."

But Matthew was hardly listening. He was leaning back on the stool, his hand gripping the counter. Gilbert being so physical close suddenly made him feel dizzy. All he could think of was when Gilbert had kissed him earlier and how nice it had felt. And even right now, his mind was short circuiting as he stared at Gilbert's neck, and how the area of skin near his jugular vein twitched slightly from his pulse.

"Um…Gilbert…?" He said quietly.

"What?"

"Were you…were you being serious about what you said earlier?" Matthew wanted to smack himself for sounding so dim witted.

"Said what?" Gilbert's voice came out sounding mischievous, like he was picking up on Matthew's uneasiness. Oh God. Matthew didn't know how much longer he would be able to stand being so _close_ to him.

"That you were afraid…" Matthew looked away from Gilbert's neck and up into his eyes. Gilbert smirked.

"Maybe…" Gilbert leaned in even closer, and Matthew could feel his breath on his skin. It was like a butterfly grazing his skin, but it was enough to make Matthew's heart pound. How could someone do this to him?

He moved his head away and looked down. He could feel the anxiety rising in his chest as he bravely asked, "What…what does this make us?"

Gilbert straightened up a little and studied Matthew for a moment before answering, "Fuck buddies?"

"WHAT?" Way for Gilbert to ruin a mood.

"Nah. Just kidding."

Matthew glared at him. He had actually been enjoying the experience. Sure the butterflies in his stomach hadn't stopped ever since Gilbert had arrived, but still…

Gilbert huffed.

"Come on, I was joking."

"That wasn't funny." Matthew said in a rather dejected voice.

Gilbert chuckled slightly before he leaned in again, "Alright." He said softly and ran the back of his hand against Matthew's cheek, "What do you want us to be?"

Matthew didn't know if he was even breathing properly. This was so physical. Save for the various times that Gilbert and him may have bumped hands, but this touching of the face, and the kissing…UGH! It was all too much at once.

"I, uh…I…huh?" Matthew replied to his question.

"What do you want us to be?" Gilbert asked again, and Matthew paused for a second before blurted out the first thing he could think of, which incidentally had nothing to do with the subject at hand.

"You're…you're a guy."

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at Matthew.

"Yeah? I know."

"I'm…a guy." Matthew said, his voice getting quieter in embarrassment. He felt ashamed for some reason.

"Okay…so?"

Matthew stopped and looked at Gilbert, surprised.

"So…it's not…weird?" Matthew hesitantly asked.

Gilbert stared at him for a moment, "Well, why should it be?"

The next words tumbled out of his mouth, hoping they didn't sound stupid when he said them out loud.

"Well, it's just that I've never really done anything like this before, and especially with a gu—" Gilbert slapped a hand over his mouth, and Matthew gave a protested muffle in response.

"Wait. Whoa there. So you mean to tell me, that you're completely brand new at this whole thing?"

Matthew waited until Gilbert took his hand away before he gave a meek, "Uh, yeah…well…yeah."

"Damn! So that means you're a virgin!" Gilbert exclaimed. He looked like he was having trouble figuring out if he wanted to laugh, or just be downright surprised. He didn't give Matthew anytime to answer and he continued, "Well shit, that makes things a whole lot more interesting!"

Matthew's face was bright red upon Gilbert's revelation of his 'deflowering' status. "Why does that make you surprised?" He squeaked out in embarrassment. On a scale of one to ten in humiliation, this was a nine hundred.

"Hey, you can never assume. Besides, it's not like you have a sign on you that says, "Hey! I'm a virgin!" Though I think we should do that."

"Yeah, you're a very blunt jerk."

"Well, don't worry Shortie. I'm with you on this one. I'm totally a virgin too."

There was a pause.

"Yeah, I doubt that."

Gilbert laughed, "Wow, is it really that obvious?"

Matthew smiled slightly at hearing his laugh. "Well, it's just…you seem to know what you're…doing…"

Gilbert looked at him thoughtfully, and Matthew made a mental note to remember that face. A thoughtful Gilbert was a very nice looking Gilbert.

"Seem to know what I'm doing, huh?" Gilbert leaned in really close to Matthew, a smirk on his face, "So I make you _nervous_?"

Matthew nearly fell out of the chair as he let out a yelp in surprise. "Y-yes! Don't do that!"

Gilbert leaned back and pulled a stool over to sit on in front of him. Their knees brushed, and Matthew squirmed.

"Alright, I'll let you in on a little secret. I've dated and gone out with too many people to count. But that's okay, since I'm sexy. But you want to know how many guys I've dated?"

"Um…" Matthew didn't know if he was supposed to guess or if the question was rhetorical. Gilbert held up one finger.

"One. Well, one and a half." Then Gilbert made a big show of trying to lift only half of his one finger, making Matthew laugh, "If you include that guy that tried to screw me after we had some hash brownies. Man, we were so high."

"Um…who was the one guy that you dated…?" Matthew asked, suddenly extremely curious. Did he know them from school?

"Hm…I wonder…" Gilbert said, looking pointedly at Matthew. It took a moment before he picked up on it, but when he did, Matthew gasped slightly. Shakily, he pointed to himself.

Him and Gilbert?

They were dating?

Dating?

"Hm. You look horrified." Gilbert said unsympathetically.

Matthew looked at him helplessly. What did two people do when they dated? Gilbert seemed to know, and here Matthew was, left in the dark.

"Dating? Us…dating?" Not that it was bad or anything. Oh no, not at all.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. I mean, unless you don't want to?"

"No, I…" Matthew could only groan. Gilbert finally seemed to get it.

"Ohhh…Of course. This is still all new to you and all. I still remember my first time. God, that was great. She had such a nice rack—"

"Gilbert."

"What? What's so bad about it? I mean, you said you loved me and we kissed, so that pretty much qualifies."

"Why are you so _blunt_!" Matthew hated it that Gilbert was so laid back about it. It made him feel like he was uptight or something. Which he was, but come on, cut him some slack!

"Hey, someone has to put it out there and not beat around the bush." Gilbert proclaimed. Then his tone got serious again. "Alright, how about this? Since you seem all new to this thing, we can go steady if you want. In fact, we can just start over and pretend we never kissed—"

"Ah, no. I, no, we don't have to forget that." Matthew hastily said, and Gilbert grinned.

"Alright then. We won't. But if you want, we can get to know each other better and let it go at your pace. Would you like that?"

"Um…" Matthew looked at Gilbert helplessly. It seemed like he was really putting a lot out there for him. "Yeah…yeah, I'd like that…"

"Awesome. In fact, we can start by asking each other questions about every little pointless detail in our lives. I heard that's what the two characters in that Twatlight, or Twilight story did…"

"Um…I don't know…I heard that book got bad reviews…"

"What is it about anyway? Isn't it about a vampire and a werewolf that fall in love?"

"I have no idea. I think it's something that only girls like."

"Well, you look like a girl, so you might like it." Gilbert laughed when Matthew shot him a glare.

"If you say one more thing about that…" He growled threateningly.

"Alright, I won't. I promise." Gilbert said and moved to the other side of the island. He picked up his Pepsi. He murmured before he took a drink out of it, "But I still can't believe it…you're first experience…with me. And not only that, but it's a gay experience." He took a drink of the soda then placed it down on the counter. "Yeah, where's a Jehovah's witness? You're totally going to hell."

This time, Matthew took a handful of grapes from the fruit bowl and threw them at Gilbert.

**Oh my god. WHAT. WHAT IS THIS? D:**

**I won't be posting (Probably, not really sure) until next week. I'm being kidnapped for a few days. I mean, what?**

**Just found out that Italy is older than America in Hetalia. WHOA.**

**Anyway, thank you for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey.**

**Betcha weren't expecting THIS.**

**Well, neither was I.**

**Enjoy Chapter 22!**

"Who's is this?"

Matthew looked up to see Alfred was holding Gilbert's shorts and t-shirt. Hey, on the plus side, this was the first time in almost two days that Alfred had talked to him. Dog earring a page of the book he was currently reading, Matthew stood up and took the clothing.

"It's mine." He tried to say casually.

"Really? They seem a little big for them to be yours." Alfred said suspiciously, and Matthew looked away.

"Yeah, well, you're seeing things." And before Alfred could ask him anything else, he folded the clothing under his arm and walked upstairs into his bedroom. He threw the clothing down onto the bed and flopped down next to them. He sighed heavily, staring up at the ceiling.

So he was faced with a dilemma. Alfred didn't like Gilbert—at all. So he makes sure to tell Matthew that it's a bad idea that he's hanging around with someone like him, since well, who could blame Alfred? He had a point after all. Gilbert partied, talked crudely, was extremely rude, and who could ever forget that he and his friends did something at the school that caused them to get into so much trouble that they had to be shipped off to different schools. (Of course, Matthew knew the full story behind it all, but in reality, everyone else was still left wondering.)

Of course, it wasn't like Alfred was so innocent himself. He _held_ parties himself and…uh, well…

Matthew groaned. He knew this wasn't going to end well. But he had some hope. Maybe, possibly, Alfred could learn to warm up to Gilbert?

He knew it was a long shot. A very long one. But he remembered back when Alfred first met Ivan. They hated each other completely. Alfred couldn't possibly believe that such a communist—as he had so politely put it—was hanging around and talking with Matthew. But then somehow, they ended up becoming really good friends. In fact, Ivan was probably one of Alfred's best friends.

So maybe if Alfred looked passed Gilbert's narcissism, rude demeanor, and practically every single thing that made Gilbert, Gilbert, they might actually somehow find a way to get along.

Oh, yeah, and not to mention that Matthew was dating Gilbert too.

Alright, so maybe somebody up there hated Matthew. He had no doubt it was probably his great grandfather Jones who he had accidently spilled a whole pitcher of orange juice on when he was younger.

Rolling over, he grabbed the clothing and stood up, stuffing them in a random bag that was hanging on his door. He decided that if Alfred was going to hang around today and ask him a million questions about the clothing, he may as well go somewhere else.

* * *

…And maybe somewhere else shouldn't have been Gilbert's house, but Matthew was running out of options. Not that he just wanted to see him or anything, no, nothing like that.

Matthew stood on the front porch of Gilbert's house twenty minutes later and he knocked on the door.

He heard the sound of the tags on the dog's collars clinking together as they ran up to the door and began barking. A few seconds later, a deep voice commanded the dogs to be quiet and the door was pulled open to reveal not Gilbert, as Matthew had hoped, but instead, Ludwig. He saw Blackie and Aster curiously peek their heads out from between his legs.

"Uh, hello." Matthew said quietly and held up the bag, as if it would explain why he was there, "Is, uh, Gilbert home?"

Ludwig stared at him for a moment, and the look he was giving Matthew, he was sure that he had already done something wrong. He shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze.

"…Come in." Ludwig murmured quietly. He stepped aside and Matthew walked in, reaching down to scratch Aster's ears as he frolicked up to him.

"He's in the kitchen." Was all Ludwig said and then he turned around and walked up the stairs.

"Ah, thank you…" Matthew hoped that Gilbert wasn't in the same mood as his brother. He walked through the dining room and peeked his head into the kitchen.

He saw Gilbert standing at the kitchen counter mixing what looked like a red drink in a pitcher. He was wearing a black sweatshirt that had fur in the hood and a pair of baggy denim jeans. Gilbert noticed him out of the corner of his eye and looked over.

"Oh, hey." He looked surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm, uh. Yeah." Matthew held the bag of clothing up again, "I'm just returning these. Is this a bad time?"

"Haha. NO." Gilbert's face broke into a smirk, "You came just in time. When Luddy answered the door, did he look pissed off?"

"Uh, yeah. I would call it that. You could also say murderous." Matthew was secretly relieved that he hadn't done anything wrong.

Gilbert cackled, sounding absolutely merciless.

"Am I missing something?"

"Yeah, you missed something. I made Kool-Aid."

Matthew looked at the pitcher and raised his eyebrows. "Woo-hoo?"

"No, not just Woo-hoo. When I make Kool-Aid, it pisses Ludwig the fuck off. I seriously can't believe you missed it! God, if you were only a few minutes earlier…"

Matthew walked closer and looked at the drink. It seemed harmless enough. "Kool-Aid makes him angry?" Even saying it out loud was ridiculous enough.

"He can't stand the way I make Kool-Aid. It's the best fucking thing ever. When I mix the drink and he's in the same room, he flips shit."

"Why?"

Gilbert shrugged, his whole face lit up in glee. "I don't know. I swear he has OCD or something. Maybe sometime I can show you. I put the sugar first, then the water, then the mix. He can't stand it. He'll stand there and watch me do it and then ask me why I didn't put the water in first. And then when he tries to show me how to do it the right way, I never listen to him. It pisses him off so much, but it's fucking hilarious. He's probably sulking in his bedroom now or something."

Matthew laughed, "Well, aren't you just evil."

"Well, he's too serious sometimes. Feel free to annoy him with me whenever you want."

"I think I'll pass." Matthew held up the bag again. "Where should I put the clothing?"

"Just throw it somewhere over there." Gilbert said pointing to the other side of the kitchen. Two windows sat above the counter and Matthew placed the bag on the windowsill. "It's actually a good thing you brought my clothing back today. When I came home the other day wearing clothing that I didn't leave the house in, my parents blew some fucking cranium."

"Really? Well, Alfred found them in the wash and claimed that they weren't ours. I tried to tell him they were mine."

"They're kind of big for you."

"Don't remind me. He looked like he didn't believe me." Matthew looked down at Gilbert's jeans. It took him a moment to realize this was the first time he saw him wearing pants. "You're not wearing your knee brace."

Gilbert was pouring himself some Kool-Aid and he also looked down at his knee, "Yeah, I don't usually wear it around the house. I've tried to leave and go places without it, but somehow it's either my parents or Ludwig that suddenly pops up and reminds me to wear it. I hate wearing the thing."

"You should wear it though." Matthew walked up next to him and bumped Gilbert's arm with his elbow. It was an affectionate gesture, but at the same time it got his attention. "Or else it'll never heal."

Gilbert sighed, as if irritated that Matthew was siding with his parents and brother. But he bumped Matthew back with his own elbow anyway. "Yeah, why don't you walk around with a brace on for a month and see how it feels?"

"I think I'd wear it because then I would get it off sooner."

"You're lying. Just wait until it happens to you." He poured Matthew a cup of Kool-Aid and held it out to him. Matthew thanked him and drank some of it. The side of his mouth pinched up in pain when he drank the too sweet flavor.

"How much sugar is in this?" Matthew winced, touching his cheek.

"Lots of it." Gilbert replied as he tilted the cup back and downed the sugary drink from his own cup. "Do you not like it?"

Matthew took another sip and made a face. He practically had to chew the drink, it was so thick with sugar. "It's like…too sweet." Well, not like _that _was the understatement of the century, "I bet this is what that stuff in hummingbird feeders taste like."

"Now _that's_ an idea. I was probably a fucking hummingbird in my past life." Gilbert poured himself another cup full and drank it like there was no tomorrow. Matthew wondered how he didn't have a heart attack by now.

Gilbert began rambling on about hummingbirds and then somehow changed the subject to motorcycles, but Matthew was hardly listening. He wondered if it was all of the sugar going through his system. Feeling extremely brave, he giggled and leaned in, kissing Gilbert on his lips. When he pulled back a few seconds later, Gilbert was wearing a rather stupid grin that could have easily matched his own.

"What was that for?" He asked amused.

"You wouldn't shut up…" Matthew snickered and leaned in again. Gilbert leaned over and was about to meet him halfway when suddenly the door in the kitchen was opened, hitting the wall with a bang.

Matthew was sure that he was either going to have a seizure, a heart attack, or maybe both. He leapt away and watched as Gilbert straightened up, like a soldier standing at attention. A woman walked in through the doorway, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. She looked familiar and it took a moment for Matthew to remember where he had seen her before. She had been the lady in the family portrait.

It was Gilbert's mom.

"Hey mom." Gilbert said casually as if he hadn't been lip locking with Matthew just a few seconds earlier.

"Hey Gilbert." His mother replied. She had a nice voice. It wasn't deep, but it wasn't high pitched. "Can you take the groceries out of the car? Oh…" She paused and her gaze fell on Matthew. "Who's this?"

"This is Matthew. He's from Canada." Matthew wondered if he could kick Gilbert without his mom noticing, but he gave her a smile instead.

"Oh, hi Matthew." His mother looked surprised and she held her hand out for him to shake. Matthew shook it and wondered if maybe she wasn't used to seeing Gilbert hanging around people like him. "I hope my son hasn't been driving you crazy. I apologize if he has."

_Oh, don't worry. He drives me crazy. Every. Day. _But Matthew decided not to mention that. When they finished shaking hands, he watched her turn to Gilbert.

"Your dad called me and said that you need to change the oil on the SUV."

Gilbert made a face, "Why? I thought that was Ludwig's job."

"Well, maybe if you would act your age for once, you wouldn't be stuck doing somebody else's chores, now would you?" She said irritably.

Matthew bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. He liked Gilbert's mom already.

"Change the oil and bring in the groceries. And where's your knee brace?" She snapped, looking down at his leg.

"It's upstairs…" Gilbert said quietly, his head lowered.

"Put it on. You _know_ what the doctor said." She was about to walk out of the kitchen, but then she stopped and made a face. "Are you drinking that Kool-Aid again?"

"…Yes, mom…"

She stared at the drink in disgust before sighing loudly and walking away. Matthew turned to Gilbert, the silence only making it harder for him to not laugh.

"Wow…just. Wow. Can I tell you that my life's complete?"

"You can shut up." Gilbert snapped, his face red in embarrassment. He walked out the door and Matthew followed after him.

"Aww, what is it? Are you embarrassed?" Matthew cooed and hurried to match his pace with Gilbert's. Gilbert didn't say anything as he opened the back of his mother's car and took out a few plastic bags. "I like your mom a lot."

"She must like you too," Gilbert grumbled, "since I'm not even allowed to be hanging out with anyone in the first place."

Matthew raised an eyebrow at this. "Why?"

"Because technically I've been grounded since school ended."

"You really don't seem grounded…"

"It's called effectively sneaking out, and having a younger brother that's willing to back you up." Gilbert explained, "But I don't think she cared when she saw you. So either she really likes you already, or she knows what I've been up to…well, whatever. So you met the hurricane. Wait until you meet the volcano. You want to help me with these?"

Matthew shook his head. "I have to go anyway. My shift starts at two and Tino hired someone new today, so I have to help them out."

Gilbert sighed and Matthew could have sworn that he almost looked crestfallen. "Well, whatever. Go make Frappucinos or whatever you do over there."

"Fine then. Maybe I will." Matthew said in a sarcastically offended tone.

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe I am." And Matthew turned around and began walking to his car. He was about halfway there when Gilbert's voice stopped him.

"Hey, you want to go get lunch with me tomorrow?"

Matthew blushed. Was Gilbert asking him out to a date? Sure, maybe it was a casual one, but still. A date?

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I'd like that." Matthew said all at once, the words tumbling out.

"Awesome. I can meet you outside of your place at noon and then we can walk somewhere if you want."

Matthew swallowed, "O-okay."

Gilbert grinned. "Alright, I'll see you then."

Matthew raised his hand and weakly waved to him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if he were feeling actual real butterflies in his stomach.

* * *

"Your turn."

"Alright." Matthew looked up at the sky and thought for a moment. "Ummm… a bug on fire."

Gilbert snorted. "That's _easy_. Firefly."

"Yeah, okay. I bet you can't do any better."

Gilbert placed his hands in his pockets as he continued walking. "Okay. A really bad deer."

"Beer?" Matthew laughed, "Yeah, real clever."

"Shut up."

As Gilbert had promised, Matthew had walked out of the café at noon to see him standing by the door waiting. Now they were walking through the downtown area looking for a place to eat while they played a game they had made up on a whim, which was one person made up a riddle, and the other had to solve it.

"Oh! I have one. The queen of cows."

Gilbert opened his mouth, then closed it, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"…Daisy?"

"What? No!" Matthew laughed. "Try again."

Gilbert thought for a few more seconds, "I know this one…"

Matthew playfully slapped Gilbert's arm. "You're lying! You just don't want to admit that you don't know it! It's Dairy Queen."

"Oh, fuck you." Gilbert grumbled. "I knew that."

"Liar. It's your turn."

Gilbert shut one eye and looked like he was thinking hard. "Okay…when French people catch on fire."

"…French fry?"

"Huh. That could work. I was actually thinking of French toast."

"Gil, that's so mean!" Matthew exclaimed, even though he was trying not to laugh.

"Pffft. No it isn't. That one was good. Admit it."

Matthew rolled his eyes and looked at Gilbert, a smile on his face. "I still think it's awful."

Gilbert stared at Matthew for a moment, then gave a soft smile back in return before looking away.

Matthew still couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to Gilbert once they had become friends, and well, more than friends. They talked about the most ridiculous things that they could never bring up to anyone else but each other, and Matthew was fine with that.

"Remember when you lent me your favorite childhood book?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, that was two weeks ago, wasn't it? You ever going to return it?"

"I was going to give it back to you on Sunday, but then I forgot. Besides, what kind of childhood did you have? That book was really sad."

When Matthew had gotten home with the book and opened it, he had expected _The Boy and the Bucket_ to be a typical child's tale. Some sweet story about a boy and whatnot. What you would read to a child as a bedtime story. But instead, as he read through it, it was the opposite of what he had expected.

It was a bit like _The Giving Tree_. A small boy with no name was given a blue bucket when he was three years old. Since he was an orphan, he loved the bucket dearly, for it was the first gift he had ever received. As he grew older, the bucket began to wear down, and the handle had fallen off. People tried to buy him brand new shiny buckets, but he denied each one he received. He would take the blue bucket everywhere with him, and even when people scorned at the dirty thing, the boy only loved it more. The events of his life lead up until he's an old man. He had recently lost his house, and ends up having to live on the streets. He's now going by day to day in tattered clothing and wearing a sad excuse for shoes. Despite everything he's lost, he still has the blue bucket and he's holding it out to people, asking for spare change. The man eventually passes away, and he's buried in the same manner he had been brought into the world, without celebration or recognition. The final scene of the book is just a picture of a young boy holding a single dandelion as he looks at the tattered blue bucket on the ground, discarded to the side of the road. The next picture shows the boy walking away, but he has placed the dandelion in the bucket.

"It was really…bittersweet…" Matthew said.

Gilbert appeared lost in thought for a moment before he turned to Matthew again. "Yeah, but what do you think the message of the book is?"

Matthew looked down at the ground for a moment and he leaned against the wall. He hadn't expected to be quizzed on the book. "Umm…honestly, I thought of the bucket as like, the one thing that stayed with him his entire life."

Gilbert nodded. "When I first read the book, I didn't understand it at all. But then as I got older I thought about it kind of like that. That the bucket was his one friend, that even though it wasn't alive, it stayed with him and helped him when he needed it. Even though everyone else had left, he still had that one, inanimate object that was always there, and from that, it was his friend."

Matthew looked at him in awe. Gilbert noticed him staring. "What?"

"Nothing." He replied. "It's just that you're so different when you talk about stuff like that."

Gilbert blushed and looked away. "Yeah, well whatever."

"I mean it." Matthew said, "Did that book mean a lot to you when you were younger?"

Gilbert shrugged. "It was my favorite story, but I didn't really like until I was older. My mom used to read it to me in German."

"Your mother's German?" Matthew asked.

"Both my parents are, but my mom was raised in America, moved to Germany, met my dad in college, they fell in love, got married, then moved back to America."

"Awww, how sweet." Matthew cooed.

"You shut up. Besides, where should we eat?"

"I don't know. What do you want? Tacos?" Matthew joked and Gilbert shoved him slightly.

"I'm not in a taco mood today. In fact, I could really go for pancakes…"

"I love pancakes…" Matthew said wistfully.

"Of course you would." Gilbert sighed, "You crazy Canadians and your maple syrup…"

"Call us crazy, but I bet you love our maple syrup." Matthew smirked.

"Speaking of maple syrup, do you know how Canada got its name?"

"Uh," Matthew blinked, "No. How?"

"Alright. Believe it or not, it was actually a mistake. So it was a while back and the people that found Canada were stuck on what to name the country, right?" Gilbert sounded like someone teaching a history lesson, and Matthew instantly found himself listening to every word. "And they had to do it soon, since all the papers were getting signed and everything. So they came up with this idea. Why not take all these pieces of paper, write one letter on each one, place them in some kind of hat and draw them out. And the order that they drew the letters out in, that's the name they would give their country."

"Really?" Matthew was amazed. He had never learned about this in History class when he lived back in Canada. How did Gilbert know so much?

"Yup. Cool, right? And so they write the letters down, and then they place in a beaver hat, and someone goes to draw them out. And so, the man draws out the first letter, okay?" Gilbert pretended to draw a piece of paper from an imaginary hat and reads it, "C, eh. He draws out the second one and says, N, eh. And then he draws out the third letter and says, D, eh."

Gilbert turned to Matthew with a smile on his face. Matthew looked back at him with his mouth hanging open.

"Wow…I…wow. I should have caught that at the beaver hat." Matthew grumbled under his breath.

"Yeah, I mean seriously? Beaver hats are _so_ last year." Gilbert said in his best Southern girl accent imitation as he did an exaggerated eye roll at the same time. Matthew only sighed and crossed his arms, suddenly feeling very irritated.

"Awww, come on. Did I hurt your feelings?" Gilbert said when he noticed Matthew's expression.

"Shut up. I don't want to talk to you." Matthew murmured and turned away.

"Hey, come on. You thought it was funny." Gilbert said smoothly as he moved in front of Matthew. "Admit it! You're smiling! I can see that you're smiling!"

"Shut up, I'm not smiling!" Matthew snapped, turning away from Gilbert again, as he in fact, tried to hide his smile.

"You're lying to me."

"How do you know?"

"Because, I'm awesome like that. Now, can you give me that great big brownie smile?" And before Matthew could stop him, Gilbert pinched his cheeks between his fingers and pulled them up into a smile.

"Gil, _stop_!" Matthew snapped as he tried to control his laughter. He slapped Gilbert's hands away and shoved him lightly on his chest.

"What? I'm just being honest…" Gilbert grinned and Matthew huffed.

"You're really mean." Matthew pouted.

"Yeah? Well, at least I'm not a pushover like you." Gilbert responded, leaning over slightly.

"At least I'm not a jerk." Matthew raised his head slightly and leaned in toward Gilbert, trying to stare him down.

"At least I'm not sensitive."

"At least I'm not conceited like you."

"Really?" Gilbert smirked, his one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah." They were leaning so close their noses almost brushed. Matthew smirked back and then as if some magnetic force sat between them, Matthew lifted his chin and brushed his lips against Gilbert's. His whole felt like it became a few degrees warmer, and he closed his eyes halfway, feeling as if he were in a daze. He heard a weird noise, and it took him a moment to realize he was leaning so close to Gilbert he could hear him breathing. Just the sound made Matthew want to lean in again and this time he kissed Gilbert completely on the lips.

The sound of a car horn beeping in the intersection brought Matthew back to his senses and he pulled away from Gilbert.

"I-I'm sorry!" Matthew gasped. What had he possibly been _thinking_? Right out in the open in front of a busy street intersection! And with a guy of all things! He turned around, determined to escape before Gilbert could yell at him. He had to get away and fast.

"Hey, wait!" Gilbert grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"I-I didn't realize what I was doing, and I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking and I…" Gilbert held his hand up and Matthew snapped his mouth shut.

"Shut up, alright?" Gilbert said and Matthew noticed that his face was flushed. "Let me just ask you one question, okay?"

Matthew bit his lip and hesitantly nodded his head.

"Okay. Now answer me honestly. Did you just kiss me because you wanted to?"

Matthew stood there for a second, dumbfounded. Was this a trick question? Of course he had! Why else would he have done it? But he nodded his head anyway, averting his gaze.

"Then why did you stop?"

"Because…because I thought that you—"

"I have a little tip for you, shortie." Gilbert cut in, his speech sounding slightly strained. "Don't ever give a fuck what the other person's thinking, because they probably want to kiss you back even more than you can imagine."

Matthew felt himself blush and he looked up at Gilbert. His face was serious, but he looked…nervous?

"I…so, it's…it's okay?" Matthew asked, his speech muddled.

Gilbert laughed quietly and shook his head. "You really are brand new to this thing, aren't you?"

Matthew decided that the best way to effectively shut up Gilbert was to grab the front of his shirt and lightly tug him back so that they were kissing again. He decided to follow Gilbert's advice, and not think at all about what he thought.

By the time they were finished, it was too late for them to go out to lunch, but neither seemed to mind when they were presented with the alternative.

**I've been on painkillers for several days now, so I wouldn't be surprised if my writing is completely wonky.  
And because I love you guys, I'm going to post a preview to the next chapter right down HERE!**

_Matthew felt his breath catch as someone leapt out of the bushes and ran at Gilbert. He wanted to scream, to bang his fists against the window, but he knew it was too late, and there was nothing he could do._

**Stay tuned for Chapter 23!**


	23. Chapter 23

**H****ere's chapter 23! Enjoy!**

"Great job, Matthew!"

"That was _awesome!_"

"Matthew, my man! That was fucking _beast_!"

Matthew felt his cheeks turning redder by the second. He lifted his hand feebly and quietly thanked each one of his team members. He was getting high fives and slaps on his back left and right.

There had been fifteen seconds left on the clock, and the hockey team they were playing against had the lead 2-1. Matthew had been given the puck and it was all on him. It seemed like an impossible feat. Practically all the team members from the other side were gaining up on him as they chased him down the court, or they were skating back and forth in front of the goal net. Everyone knew that it was over. The other team was obviously better than them. Matthew refused to believe that they were going to lose, and to put it as his teammate Mark had described, had "barreled the fuck right through those sorry motherfuckers."

Knocking over three opposing teammates, he skated right up to the net and caught a glimpse of shocked expression on the goalie's face before he shot the puck into the net and scored.

At that point of the game, when there was only fifteen seconds left, and the other team was in the lead, Matthew's team had basically given up. The ones that sat on the bench had their heads in their hands, knowing that they were done for. But Matthew refused to accept defeat and scored the goal, causing the game to go into overtime. The team was ecstatic and they were all renewed with a hope that, hey, they could win this!

Ivan was now in possession of the puck and Matthew followed him from across the court. It looked like he was going to score and Matthew was mentally cheering for joy already, but then someone from the other side came up and smashed Ivan against the wall. As if that was any indication to how pissed off the other team was.

Ivan had seen the person skating up to him and at last second, passed it to Matthew, who never hesitated and shot the puck into the goal a second time.

Not only had Matthew tied the game, but he had won it for the team also. And now he was being smothered alive as everyone celebrated the victory against a team that hadn't lost a single game yet.

"I thought we were going to lose, but you won it for us Matt! You won it for us!" Matthew felt all the breath leave his lungs as he was squeezed into the tight embrace of a guy well over half his height.

"Oh, it-it was nothing…" he said with a flushed look on his face.

"Bullshit, nothing! We'll be going to States at this rate!"

Matthew didn't have time to reply to this because their coach suddenly came in through the door.

"Hey, coach! You think we have a chance now that Matthew's on our team?" Mark called out as he threw his goalie mask in his bag.

"I'll tell you guys now that at this point, if I only had Ivan and Matthew for a team, they would do better than the all of you combined."

There was a chorus of 'ooh's' and booing as the coach gave out his usual round of insults to the players, but they could all tell that he was going soft tonight. After all this was big. They had never once defeated this team.

"Everyone pack up your bags and get on the bus. Tonight I think we should stop and get something to eat, my treat."

Everyone cheered and went considerably faster, throwing their hockey equipment into their bags in disarray.

"Dude, I bet the other team is _pissed_! Did you see how the one guy body checked Ivan?"

"They probably want to murder us now, since they got their asses handed to them."

Matthew threw his bag over his shoulder and followed the other guys out of the locker room. Ivan came up next to him, a bruise smarting just below his lower left eye.

"Nice job." He commented patting Matthew on his back.

Matthew shook his head, "I didn't do anything special. All I did was score two goals."

"Sure, but you didn't give up like everyone else did. Besides, if it had been me who would have scored those goals, everyone would have been too afraid to congratulate me."

Matthew laughed and pointed at Ivan's eye, "Did you get that when the person on the other team body checked you? It's showing already."

Ivan gingerly touched it and winced slightly, "Yes, I think so. Does it look bad?"

"A little…" Matthew opened up the doors and held the one for Ivan. The warm air gently blew in their faces as they exited the air conditioned building. "But if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have even scored the last goal."

Ivan shook his head. "In the end, no one cares who helped you. They only care that you scored the game and made us win."

"Hey, _I _care." Matthew proclaimed with a grin on his face. Ivan looked at him and laughed.

"You really are something."

Ivan and Matthew were the last two to get on the bus, and they walked on to cheers and clapping. Matthew hid his face with his hand as he sat down in one of the seats in the back. Ivan sat down next to him and they each shoved their bags under their seats.

"Hey, Matt!" Isaac, one of Matthew's teammates turned around in his seat and looked at him with a grin on his face, "Coach is so happy about us winning the game, he's taking us to Hooters!"

"In your dreams, Isaac!" Their coach called from the front without even looking up.

Logan, another teammate turned around punching Isaac on his arm, "Don't try to make Matthew too excited. Besides, I bet he already has a girlfriend and doesn't have to barhop like you."

Isaac shoved him back, "Okay, I'm _sure_ Matt has a girlfriend. Er, do you?"

"Um…" Matthew felt himself blush.

"Holy shit, you do! Hey everyone! Matt has a girlfriend!" Isaac shouted to the other guys in the front of the bus.

"Isaac, shut up!" Matthew snapped and he kicked the back of his seat.

"Are you serious? We thought you were innocent! Damn!"

"Yeah, Matt! Get some!"

Matthew groaned and wanted to disappear. It only got worse when Logan and Isaac turned around and began asking him questions.

"How old is she?"

"Eighteen…" Matthew muttered. Which was true, but the fact that it was a guy…

Several people exclaimed or swore in surprise.

"Damn, Matt! So you're into cougars, aren't you? I never knew you had it in you!" Mark came up from the front and slapped him good heartedly on the back a few times.

"So, is she hot?"

"Uh…"

"Does she have a nice rack?"

Mark snickered and punched Logan on his arm and Logan punched him back. Thankfully, Matthew was saved from that question, but they didn't stop.

"Does she go to your school?"

"What grade is she in?"

"Does she look good in a bikini?"

"Have you two done it yet?"

Matthew looked to Ivan for help, but saw that he wasn't paying any attention and was listening to his iPod touch instead. Groaning, Matthew turned back to face the onslaught of questions alone.

* * *

_"I heard about the hockey game yesterday. Did you really score the last two goals?"_

Matthew switched the phone to his other ear, and continued stirring the rice he was making for dinner with his one hand. "Yeah, that was me."

"_Wow, that's amazing. I wish I had been there to see it."_

Matthew's heart clenched up at the statement. He was currently talking to his father on the phone, and it had been the first time either had been able to communicate with each other in almost a week. "Yeah…me too…"

There was a pause on the other end and Matthew wondered if his father was quiet because of what he had just said, or if he was just busy doing something else. Usually when his father called, the conversations would be brief, and it would just be him asking how he and Alfred were, and then he'd tell them to set up the sprinklers, or whatever he had forgotten to do in the first place.

"Dad, are you there?" Matthew asked as the silence spanned on.

"_I'm here. I was just signing some papers. Did you say something?"_

Matthew sighed and indifferently pushed the rice around with the spoon. "No, I didn't say anything."

"_Alright, listen Matthew. I have to go, things are really busy here," _Matthew rolled his eyes. It wasn't like this was the first time he had ever heard this, _"and I was just calling to tell you that the window cleaners are going to be around tomorrow at about ten, so let them in the house when they arrive."_

"Alright, dad."

"_And if there's anything on the floor, or a mess of any kind, make sure you and your brother clean it up. I will not accept someone coming into our house if there's dirty dishes left on the counter."_

"Yes, dad."

"_Alright, make sure you do all of that. Tell Alfred I said hi, okay?"_

"Alright."

"_Okay, see you." _And the line went dead.

Matthew sighed heavily and hung up the phone. He wondered why he even answered the phone anymore. He returned to stirring the rice, only to be interrupted a few seconds later when the phone rang again.

"Hello?" He spoke monotonously into the phone, not even bothering to check the ID.

"_Well, Jesus. Someone sounds like they could use a beer or two."_

Matthew straightened up slightly, "Oh. Hey, Gil…"

"_Hey shortie. I heard about your ass kicking skills in hoekiny." _Gilbert mispronounced hockey for reasons unexplained. Matthew tried to correct him a few times, but eventually gave up.

"Yeah…"

"_So, how was it? Did you pop champagne?"_

"No, don't be ridiculous. But on the bus ride home, some of the guys wanted me to tell them about my girlfriend that I apparently have."

"_Oh yeah, that non existent one that you're always with. How is she doing?"_

"Oh, she's doing perfectly well. In fact, she can't pronounce hockey correctly, and I'm talking to her on the phone right now."

"_Make sure you tell her I said hi, okay? She needs to come by more often, I swear."_

Matthew smiled. Leave it up to Gilbert's absurd behavior to make him feel better.

"Alright, I'll let her know."

"_Good. Now, anyway, the reason I was calling was because my parents are going away today and tomorrow. Yes, I know. Isn't it wonderful? Anyway, I'll be stuck with Ludwig, who has a stick up his ass, and I was wondering if you wanted to come over?"_

Matthew's first response was to open his mouth and say 'yes', but then he remembered the conversation with his dad and he stopped. "I can't…some people are coming by tomorrow to clean the windows and I have to be here when they arrive…"

"_Ohhh, that sucks. What time are they coming over tomorrow?"_

"Around ten…"

"_Well, that's not so bad. You can come over tonight, and then I can drive you back to your place tomorrow morning."_

Matthew's eyes widened. Did he just…? "Wait. Tomorrow morning?"

"_Well, yeah. I mean, you may as well stay over since my parents are going to be gone, and we'd have the house all to ourselves. Except for Ludwig and the dogs, but they're practically the same thing."_

Matthew was speechless. Okay, so maybe he had slept over at a friend's house once or twice, but sleeping over with someone that was your boyfriend? A whole entire different level. Or maybe he was just overreacting. Either way, he couldn't help the way his heart fluttered when he thought about staying over at Gilbert's house.

"Um, I…sure. I mean, yeah, that, we can do that." He said quickly. He figured Alfred wouldn't notice he was gone, and neither of his parents were coming home anytime soon.

"_Alright, awesome. I'll come by to pick you up in about half an hour. Make sure you pack your pee-jays!"_

"Right., um, bye…"

"_See ya."_

Matthew pressed 'end' on the phone and nearly dropped it as he shakily placed it back on its stand. He took the rice off of the stove and dumped it into a container before throwing it in the fridge. He was no longer hungry.

He figured he might as well keep himself busy as he waited for Gilbert to come around. So what would he need? He mentally ticked off in his head. Toothbrush, extra clothing…

By the time he had everything packed in a small bag, he heard the sound of Gilbert's car pulling up the road. He felt a rush of relief that Alfred hadn't come downstairs, and he hurried out the door.

"Jeez, do I need to call nine-one-one? You're acting like your ass is on fire." Gilbert joked when Matthew opened the passenger side of the door. Matthew threw his bag in his face.

"You shut up. And besides, we _have_ to be here before ten tomorrow."

Gilbert laughed and threw the bag into the back. "Yeah, I get it already. Don't worry, we'll be here before then."

"We'd better."

"We _will_. Quit whining."

"I'm not _whining_." Matthew sniffed indignantly.

"That's what it sounds like to me." Gilbert replied as he pulled away from the curb.

"You...I swear…"

There was silence for a few seconds until Gilbert smirked and proclaimed, "I win."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Can you get anymore annoying?"

"Actually, I can get sexier. I can teach you, but I have to charge."

Matthew laughed quietly and slapped Gilbert's leg. "Why don't you shut up?"

Gilbert grinned and tried to smack Matthew back with his one hand, "Maybe I don't want to."

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe I won't."

Matthew and Gilbert continued their little game of trying to hit each other until they stopped at a red light and Matthew leaned in, kissing Gilbert on his lips. When they each pulled back, both were slightly breathless and red in the face.

"I win." Matthew said quietly, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"…That's cheating…" was all Gilbert said to this, his eyes on the road.

"No, it isn't."

Gilbert didn't respond to this, and Matthew mentally cheered. Already, he was good at this game.

They arrived at Gilbert's house shortly after and Matthew got out of the car only to stop and stare in amazement at their backyard.

"What is it?" Gilbert asked as he walked around the car to Matthew's side.

"Your backyard is really…nice." Matthew didn't know how else to put it in words. It was simply breathtaking. The sun was setting, and rays of it poked through the trees from the forest, giving their backyard a unique glow as the light reflected off the grass. Hundreds, maybe thousands of lightning bugs were already out as they lazily flew over the ground, flashing themselves every few seconds. It had been years since Matthew had seen something like this, since they lived in the urban part of the city. And even the sound of the crickets chirping was something he no longer heard from where he lived.

"Yeah…I guess it is…" Gilbert shrugged and he reached into the back of the car and took out Matthew's bag and handed it to him.

"Thank you…" Matthew said as he took the bag. He looked at the yard one final time in a wistful yearning before following Gilbert into the house.

When Gilbert opened the back door, Blackie and Berlitz both shot out from between his legs and sprinted off into the field.

"Ugh." Gilbert grunted as he stumbled slightly. "Stupid mutts!" He yelled out after them before he walked into the house, grumbling to himself.

"Aw, come on Gil, they're not that stupid. In fact, they're really nice. Hi, Aster." Matthew greeted the golden retriever as he came up to him, acting like he hadn't seen Matthew in years.

"Aster, get down!" Gilbert growled as the dog jumped up on his hind legs and rested his front paws on Matthew's chest.

"He's fine, I don't care." Matthew laughed as he tousled the dog's hair behind his ears.

"You say that now, but wait until you have to live with them."

"I wouldn't mind owning a dog."

"Try owning three. You can have one if you want. Especially the German Shepherd. Caught the goddamn thing chewing on my shoes this morning."

"I think I'd take Aster." Matthew said.

"Well, of course you would. That dog fucking loves you. I mean, look at him."

Matthew smiled as Aster nuzzled his hand, begging to be pet some more. When he looked up, he saw Gilbert had a small smile on his face.

"What?"

"Huh?" Gilbert looked at him as if he had been snapped out of a daze.

"You were smiling."

Gilbert turned away as he walked into the pantry. "No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

Gilbert emerged with three food dishes that he placed on the counter. He pointed at Matthew. "You be quiet."

Matthew walked up next to Gilbert and watched as he placed a cup of dry food in each dish, and then half a can of wet dog food for each one.

"Aww, you can't completely hate them. I mean, you're feeding them."

Gilbert snorted, "If I didn't, Ludwig would kill me." He grabbed two of the dishes and told Matthew to grab the third. Opening the back door with his foot, he called out, "Retards! Come eat dinner!"

Matthew stared at Gilbert, his mouth agape. It only made matters worse when the dogs actually did come running.

"Could you be any crueler?"

"I could. Do you want me to be?"

"Er, no. Please don't."

After they put the bowls down, they both went inside and Gilbert walked over to the fridge. "Did you eat anything?" He asked as he pulled open the door.

"Umm…no. I was going to, but then you called…" Matthew was suddenly hungry at the mention of food.

"Oh, well. Then you're going to help me make hamburgers." Gilbert said as he pulled out a bowl from the refrigerator with a lid on it.

"Make…hamburgers?" Matthew was confused. He had to be wrong when he thought that Gilbert meant going out and finding a cow and then…well, you know the rest. "Aren't they already made?"

Gilbert looked at him like he was crazy for a moment, then it seemed to dawn on him, and to Matthew's surprise, he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Matthew said in surprise.

"Oh my God…this is great…" Gilbert wheezed before he began laughing again. Matthew stood still, a blush forming on his face. Had he seriously just said something really stupid?

"Oh, I'm such a riot." He snapped, feeling irritated.

"No, it's not that, it's…" Gilbert laughed a little while longer until he caught his breath and could form a sentence without breaking off into hysterics. "Do you, do you buy hamburgers already cooked? Or do you buy them and they're already made into patties?"

"Umm…yes to both." Matthew said hesitantly.

"So you've never actually _made_ a hamburger."

"Um…what do you mean exactly?"

"I mean taking raw meat and forming it into a hamburger yourself and then cooking it."

"Oh…_oh_." Matthew said quietly. So _that's_ what he meant. And then, "Wait, you make the hamburgers yourself?"

"Um…have you seriously never made a hamburger before?"

Matthew bit his lip and shook his head. The closest he had ever come was pulling the store bought frozen ones out of the freezer and cooking them. Not…molding them or whatever.

"Wow…so because you're rich, you've _never_ made the hamburger meat yourself?"

"Not because I'm rich!" Matthew snapped, "It's just that I've never done it…"

"No, seriously. You're acting like you have no clue that hamburgers aren't just shaped like that. You've probably never even touched raw meat before."

"That's not true! I've touched…" Matthew's mind raced, "I've touched raw chicken once!"

Gilbert looked unimpressed. "Wow, amazing."

"Shut up, okay? I bet there are things you've never done before!"

Gilbert laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Anyway, wash your hands and come over here."

Matthew complied, pushing his sleeves back to his elbows and washing his hands. Walking up to Gilbert, he saw that inside the bowl was a hunk of raw ground meat, definitely not in the shape of a hamburger.

"So, it looks like…that?"

"Before you shape it, yes." Gilbert ripped half of the meat off of the hunk and held it up to Matthew's nose. "Sniff it."

Matthew instantly recoiled. "No, thank you!"

Gilbert chortled and placed the meat in a second bowl. Taking two eggs out of the fridge, he cracked them open with the meat, added some bread crumbs, and a pinch of paprika.

"Us ordinary folk will sometimes add ingredients of our own for extra flavor. Unlike, you know, some rich people."

Matthew sneered at him, and decided not to comment back.

"Alright, now mix the ingredients." Gilbert said to Matthew, stepping back from the bowl. Matthew looked at the raw eggs, raw meat, bread crumbs, and paprika helplessly.

"I need a spoon or something to mix it with…"

"Nah, just use your hands." Gilbert said.

Matthew was sure Gilbert was joking. "My…hands."

"Yeah, just stick them in there and mush things around."

Matthew just continued to stare at the meat. That was until Gilbert reached into the bowl and began mixing the ingredients with his own hands. He didn't know whether to feel repulsed that Gilbert was touching the meat, or shocked that he actually wasn't kidding.

"See, like this. Now you try." Gilbert removed his hands and looked at Matthew expectantly.

Matthew made a face and hesitantly reached into the bowl. His face turned to instant disgust when his hands began mushing up against the meat and slippery egg.

"It's…ewww…it's really cold! It's, it's…ew…"

Gilbert laughed and Matthew grimaced.

"The best part about it is that sometimes there's extra blood in the meat, and it gets all over your hands when you squeeze it." Matthew instantly drew his hands back away from the bowl.

"Blood?" He said weakly.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's meat after all. It's gotta have some blood in it. Keeps it juicy." Gilbert took over Matthew's job that he had abandoned.

Matthew shuddered, content on possibly never making a hamburger again.

"You big baby." Gilbert rolled his eyes and broke off a piece of the meat and began shaping it. "Now, what you do is you roll the meat and then you flatten it until you get the shape you want…"

Gilbert explained to Matthew how to form the hamburger into a patty, and eventually, Matthew reached in and made one himself, his curiosity taking over. Finally when they had four made, they threw them in a heated skillet and waited as they cooked.

"High five." Gilbert held up his one hand that was tainted a light brown color from the blood, which to Matthew's horror and disgust, had actually come out when he had squeezed the meat. He was sure Gilbert had been exaggerating.

"No thanks." Matthew laughed and went over to wash his hands, Gilbert following behind him. He didn't give it much thought to how close Gilbert was standing behind him until he felt him lean his chest against Matthew's back and kiss him lightly on his neck, right below his jaw line. Matthew felt his heart flutter and his breath catch.

"Gilbert…?" He whispered as he leaned onto his shoulder.

"Mmm?" Was all Gilbert murmured into Matthew's skin as he kissed him a little lower on his neck.

"Uh..." Matthew couldn't think straight. Gilbert's breath on his neck tickled and gave him shivers. "…I forget…"

Gilbert laughed quietly and pulled away from Matthew. "My fault, huh?"

"Yes, yes, all you're fault…" Matthew said breathlessly. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, but oddly he didn't mind the feeling at all.

When they had finished washing their hands, and the hamburgers were done cooking, Gilbert placed them all on buns, and handed two on a plate to Matthew. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of…

"No…not Kool-Aid…" Matthew groaned, looking at the blue liquid.

"Hey, I don't want to hear you complaining. If you don't want to drink any, you can have water instead."

Carrying the hamburgers and Kool-Aid (and a cup of water, in Matthew's case) into the living room, Gilbert threw himself onto the couch, and Matthew sat down next to him.

"So, I went out and rented _Pan's Labyrinth_ before I picked you up. I never saw it before. You want to see the acclaimed 'Fairy tale for adults'?"

Matthew shrugged. "Sure. It looks really interesting."

Gilbert turned on the TV and put the cd into the DVD player. While they waited for everything to load, he coaxed Matthew into taking a bite out of his hamburger. Matthew reluctantly took a small bite, and then his eyes widened and he practically stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. It was delicious. Nothing like the store bought kind he grew up with.

The movie was about a young girl named Ofelia that lived in Spain during World War II. To escape all the horrors of the war, she finds a Faun that claims she's the reincarnation of a princess that had died long, long ago, and was destined to one day return. She's given three tasks to complete before the full moon to prove that she really is the princess, and at the same time has to deal with her mother who is expecting to have a baby, and the tyrannical general who she refuses to call her father.

Matthew didn't know who started it first, but after the first fifteen minutes, he noticed that they were definitely sitting closer together than before. Eventually, they had inched themselves closer to each other and Matthew leaned his head against Gilbert's shoulder. He decided to just do it and act casual like it wasn't a big deal, and Gilbert did the same, not even reacting when Matthew rested his head against him.

After that, both of them were comfortable enough, and when the first hour was up, Gilbert had snaked both his arms around Matthew's waist and pulled him closer. By then, they were both lying horizontally on the couch. Matthew felt himself rubbing Gilbert's arms as Gilbert would lean over and kiss him on the top of his head from time to time. They only spoke once and a while to exchange comments about the movie.

Matthew had never felt safer, had never felt warmer, had never felt more content, than with Gilbert's arms wrapped around him. It just felt so…right.

Matthew hadn't realized he was slowly dozing off until the sound of the back door opening and being slammed shut jarred him awake. He tried to separate himself from Gilbert, but couldn't move when he tightened his grip around him.

"It's okay…" Gilbert murmured, and Matthew could tell that he had been halfway asleep also. "It's just Ludwig."

"But we're—"

"Don't worry about it. He already knows."

Ludwig walked into the living room a few moments later, and Matthew felt himself freeze up like a rabbit. What was he going to do when he saw them? Yell at them? Scoff in disgust?

But instead, he saw Ludwig calmly look over at Gilbert lying on the couch, his gaze flickering to Matthew for only a second, but then back to Gilbert.

"Is there any leftover meat in the fridge?"

"Yeah, I left some. It's in the blue bowl."

Ludwig nodded and murmured a quiet 'thanks' before turning away and walking out of the room. Matthew wondered if Gilbert could hear his heartbeat.

"Your brother…"

"Yeah, what about him?" Gilbert asked, laying his head back down and nuzzling into Matthew's hair.

"He's…he's fine with it?"

"Of course he is. He's known about us for a while…"

Matthew took a moment to absorb this information. "…Seriously?"

"Yes, now be quiet. You worry too much."

Matthew huffed. "You don't worry enough…"

Gilbert laughed sleepily and he pulled Matthew closer. "Then maybe that's why you're here. You can worry for the both of us."

"Shut up..." But Matthew smiled and wrapped his arms around Gilbert's as the movie played on.

The movie ended, and neither wanted to get up from the couch, so Gilbert leaned over and grabbed the remote to turn off the DVD player, and opted to watch some TV instead. They turned to a channel that was showing an episode of South Park, and Matthew found himself laughing along with Gilbert until he was in the same sleepy stupor as earlier, and he eventually fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he had been out, but the next thing he knew, someone was shaking him awake, a lamp next to the couch was turned on, and the TV was turned off. Disoriented, Matthew groaned and turned his head into Gilbert's chest, away from the bright light. He heard Gilbert laugh quietly, and he shook him again, trying to convince him that they had to go upstairs. Matthew sleepily asked him what time it was and Gilbert said it was probably after one in the morning. Gilbert eventually got Matthew to stumble up the stairs and he watched in amusement as Matthew shuffled over to the bed and laid down on it, taking no time at all to fall back asleep. Gilbert sighed with a small smile on his face and lay down next to him before turning off the light.

* * *

When Matthew woke up again, it was light out. The sun shined in through the window. That was a difference between him and Gilbert. He slept with his curtains drawn, because once he caught a glimpse of the sunlight in the morning, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't ever get himself to fall back asleep. He turned his head and looked at the clock, seeing that it was about six in the morning.

So he had about three hours before having to actually get up. He looked at Gilbert and stared in awe as he slept soundly, his breathing even. Matthew reached up and lightly touched his nose. He saw Gilbert's eyes twitch and he moved his head away from Matthew's finger, but he didn't stir from his sleep. Matthew smiled and snuggled in closer to Gilbert. He wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep, but he didn't mind just laying there, loosely embraced in Gilbert's arms.

It was about half an hour later when the house phone began ringing. At first, Gilbert didn't wake up, and Matthew wondered if he should shake him awake. But then after the fifth or sixth ring, he heard Gilbert groan and shift slightly. Matthew closed his eyes, pretending to still be asleep.

"What the hell…?" Gilbert grumbled groggily and got off of the bed. Matthew was facing the wall and he could only hear as Gilbert stumbled to the doorway and opened it, then make his way down the hall, where he answered the phone. "Hello?" There was silence for a moment, and Matthew was surprised that when Gilbert spoke next, his voice was a lot more awake, and he sounded…excited. "Hey! What…are you serious?" Gilbert laughed, "No, I was just sleeping…well, what else would I be doing this early in the morning? No. _No_. Well…wait, are you here? Like, at my house?" There was a pause, and Matthew wondered who he was talking to. He had never heard Gilbert this enthusiastic before. "Holy shit, you…wow, that's great! Yeah, I'll be out in like, five minutes. Alright, see ya."

Gilbert hung up the phone and walked back into the bedroom and Matthew heard him opening and closing drawers. There was silence aside from some rustling noise, and he assumed that Gilbert was changing his clothes. A few moments later he heard the door closing and Gilbert's footsteps as he walked down the stairs.

Matthew sat up from the bed and walked over to the window. He heard a door slam, and then watched as Gilbert walked down the steps into the backyard, wearing his usual running outfit. He looked like he was waiting for someone as he stood in place, his hands on his hips, turning his head from side to side.

That was when Matthew saw something sneaking up from the side of the house. Gilbert had his back turned, and Matthew was seized with a sudden fear. He wanted to bang his fists against the window and scream, warning Gilbert. But he knew it was too late when the figure leapt out from beside the house and ran up at Gilbert.

It was a girl. She was slender with a nice build and almost the same height as Gilbert. Her long brown hair was held in a ponytail, and she was wearing running shorts and a zip-up hoodie.

Matthew didn't expect what happened next. The girl nearly tackled Gilbert as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Gilbert spun around and wrapped his arms around her. He could hear their laughter from up in the bedroom.

Matthew's mouth felt dry. His hands weakly fell to his side and he watched as Gilbert ran off into the forest with the girl, each playfully trying to hit or kick each other when they had the chance.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

**GRRRRR.**

**I haven't been able to reply to everyone's reviews lately! I'm so sorry! I'm back from my vacation, so I'll finally be able to get back on track!**

**In the mean time, here's a picture of me flying: http : / / i236 . photobucket . com / albums / ff249/ All _ My _ Cookies / 3. jpg**

**Annnndd...yeah, that's about it. Also, I was thinking of possibly putting a theme song up for this story. So if anyone wants to suggest a song, you can go ahead.**

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	24. Chapter 24

**So…my older brother is visiting my older older brother in California.**

**Which means…**

**;LKNMFQWAOIJ'ASDF**

**THAT'S RIGHT. **

**Walking around the second floor naked! WOOOO!**

**Enjoy Chapter 24! Kind of like the TV show, but hopefully better!**

Matthew wondered what he had exactly seen. He didn't know if he felt jealous, or angry. He felt a little numb, kind of like when he had ignored Gilbert for that whole week when he found out he loved him.

He noticed that Gilbert had brought his bag upstairs and sat it against the wall. Matthew opened it, pulling out the clothing he had packed and put them on. Grabbing his face cleanser, he walked into the bathroom. He glanced at himself in the mirror and stopped.

He didn't feel anything, but when he saw the look on his face, everything inside of him seemed to shatter.

Like it was etched in stone, the desperate hopelessness, and loss on his face showed it all. Matthew abandoned his toiletries on the counter and walked out of the bathroom, not even bothering to turn off the light. He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared ahead at the wall.

He had never really been in love before. His nervous disorder stood in the way of a big part of that. It had been when Gilbert forced his way into Matthew's life did he really start to open up more to others, and then he realized that he loved someone who dared to do the obscene, and the absolute impossible.

And when he had confessed that he loved Gilbert, it had been the last time either had said that word. Love.

Gilbert had never even said it to Matthew once.

And maybe it was just too soon into their relationship. After all they had only been dating for about three weeks so far.

Or were they even dating? Matthew sighed heavily. He knew if Alfred were to see this, he'd say 'I told you so.' and Matthew would have to agree. He had been a fool to think that someone like Gilbert would really—honestly and truly—be such a loyal person. He had been used before, and he was probably just being used again.

He knew that real life didn't always have a happy ending, he wasn't stupid. But he thought that maybe, he could have just been carelessly joyful this one time. After all those years in school, trying to keep himself hidden, having to deal with people pestering him, and his social status dropping dramatically, he wondered when there would be a day that he could just be himself around someone else.

He couldn't remember ever feeling that content with someone else than with Gilbert last night. Being held so close to someone else was so new to him, and how warm Gilbert's lips felt when he kissed the top of his head…

Last night had been different. Last night had been like a new step forward, an opening door to more possibilities between the both of them. And they had both felt comfortable with it.

But he had to laugh at himself, really. He had been an idiot to think that everything would have been perfect. And even when he had hugged that girl…

Matthew wondered if he was overreacting.

Was he…?

Then why did his heart fell like it was being torn apart?

A door from downstairs slamming shut made Matthew jump. He knew it was Gilbert, as he heard him walk up the stairs and open the bedroom door.

"Hey." He said, sounding surprised, "You're up. I thought you'd still be sleeping."

Matthew shrugged, not really wanting to look Gilbert in the eye. He heard Gilbert walk across the room until he was standing in front of the bed.

"You okay? You look like you have no soul or something."

"I'm fine…" Matthew said quietly.

Gilbert kneeled down so that they were face-to-face. "You don't look fine. Why don't you tell me what's up?"

Matthew had the urge to suddenly ask Gilbert where he had been just to see if he would answer truthfully. Or even just saying that he saw him with the girl. He raised his head and opened his mouth to say something, then realized he couldn't. He had made the mistake of looking into Gilbert's eyes, and it made him freeze. He couldn't say it. His heart beat fast as he opened his mouth.

"I'm fine…I'm…like this in the morning all the time. Yup." Matthew gave a weak smile and tried to play it off, but he could tell that Gilbert didn't buy it.

"Well, alright." Gilbert said, his eyebrows raised, "If you're sure that you don't need your happy pills or anything. Because you just look fucking sad."

_Because of you…_ Matthew shook his head, his smile twitching. Amazing how it hurt to fake an expression. "No, I'm fine."

Gilbert looked like he was about to say something else, then shrugged and stood up. "Well, I have to take a shower, and then I'll drop you off at your place."

Matthew nodded without answering and Gilbert turned away, closing the bathroom door behind him.

The was the last of a conversation Gilbert could get out of Matthew.

It was around nine when Gilbert pulled up to Matthew's house. The ride over had been awkward, quiet. Matthew avoided any conversation by staring out the window.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Gilbert asked, as if a last attempt at any conversing they could possibly get.

Matthew already was out of the car, the bag in his hand before he turned around and said very quickly, "Nope, don't worry about it. I can handle them on my own."

Gilbert looked at him like he had gone crazy. He sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay, whatever. See you."

Matthew looked down, murmuring only a quiet goodbye before Gilbert pulled away. He turned around and walked up the stairs to his house not giving him a second glance.

* * *

It was several days later, and Matthew was at work, handing the drinks to the customers in a kind of robotic manner. He would smile, take their order, make the drink, hand them the drink and wish them a nice day. He went on like this until about the third hour into his shift when he and Toris, the new person that worked the shift with him, accidently bumped into each other, spilling vanilla caramel latté and mocha all over the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Matthew…" Toris said, looking extremely guilty, "I didn't see where I was going—"

"It's fine." Matthew said quickly. "I'll clean it up." And he went into the back, grabbing a few rags. He returned and began wiping up the mess while Toris hurried to remake the drinks. While he was cleaning up the spill, for some odd reason, it reminded him of himself. That his whole life was now this huge mess.

He thought it would be just _great_ if someone could just come by and clean it all up with a rag.

He hadn't talked to Gilbert since Matthew had seen him with the girl, and even when he had called, he had ignored them just like before. He didn't know if he was too afraid to hear Gilbert's voice again, or if he was just angry. Maybe he was afraid that he was angry, or angry that he was afraid. Now that was a real twist.

"Matthew?"

Matthew jumped at the sound of Tino's voice. He realized that he had just been kneeling there, staring down at the spill. Tino didn't come out front anymore since he had two people working, and when he did come out, it was usually just to check up on things.

"I'm sorry, Tino." Matthew said hastily, "I accidently spilled the drinks, and I'm cleaning this up now. Toris took the orders and re-did them…"

Tino's expression stopped him.

"Finish cleaning that mess, and then come to the back."

Matthew swallowed nervously. Was he really in trouble? Tino wasn't the type to get angry a whole lot, so you knew it was a bad thing if he wanted to talk to you…

Matthew sighed as he threw the wet rags into the sink. Add getting fired from your job to the list of things that made your life a huge mess.

Matthew walked up to Tino as he stood against the wall, studying him. "Yes, Tino?"

"Matthew, I'm going to be very honest with you. The last few days you've seemed very...off. Is everything alright?"

"Uh…I…" Matthew nodded quickly, "Yup. Everything's fine."

Tino looked like he didn't buy it and Matthew sighed.

"Um…well, not really. Stuff…happened a few days ago…"

Tino nodded. "Alright then. Well, how about you go home for today? You really look like you could use a sick day, and I haven't been working in the front, and I must admit, I miss it a little."

Matthew looked at him, wondering if he had heard right. "But, my shift—"

"Don't worry about it, Matthew." Tino smiled kindly, "Go home. And while you're at it, take an Éclair also. I'll bet that will cheer you up."

Matthew hastily thanked Tino, and did as he was told. It was raining rather heavily outside, so with umbrella and Éclair in hand, Matthew went outside and began walking down the sidewalk. He couldn't drive home today, since Alfred had to use the car. Figures, the one day that it would rain this hard and Matthew wouldn't have a ride home.

He sighed and continued walking up the alleyway near the café when he heard a noise that made him stop. It sounded like a soft mewling and he turned around to see a small kitten poking its head out from between two garbage cans.

"Oh." Matthew's eyes widened in surprise, "Hello there."

The kitten looked at him with huge watery eyes. It was skinny, no doubt a stray. You could see practically every rib sticking out of its tabby colored fur. The kitten mewled pitifully again as if its protests would in any way lessen the heavy downpour.

Matthew kneeled down and held his hand out toward the kitten. It stared at him warily and didn't move from the spot between the trashcans.

"Here Kitty…" Matthew called quietly and waited a few seconds more, but the kitten still didn't move. Tearing a piece of the Éclair off, he threw it near the kitten. As if that had done the trick, the kitten pounced on the small piece of dessert and devoured it.

"Wow…you're really hungry, aren't you?" He tore off another piece and threw it again, but not as far. The kitten moved closer and ate that piece. Matthew continued throwing piece after piece until the kitten was close enough to eat out of his hand. But when he tried to feed the kitten that way, it turned and ran all the way back to the trash can, its small head sticking out and staring at him warily.

Matthew laughed quietly and placed the pastry on the ground. "Here, I'm not hungry. You can have it." He stood up and began backing away as the kitten watched. When he was at an acceptable distance, the kitten sprinted toward the Éclair and began eating the rest of it. Matthew couldn't help but smile sadly as he turned and walked away. At least there was someone out there that could be happy.

* * *

"God mother fucking dammit to hell." Gilbert growled as he pulled the cell phone away from his ear, "He still won't answer the fucking phone!"

"Well, Jesus, if I were him, I wouldn't either. You swear like a sailor." A girl sat across from Gilbert, her legs propped up on the table. She had an acoustic guitar in her lap, and was tuning it, occasionally playing a few chords.

"I don't need to hear anything from you." Gilbert muttered as he dialed Matthew's number again.

"Oh, get this." The girl cooed, "I have an idea. Maybe he's not home!"

"Even if he isn't home, then why hasn't he answered my other calls? Goddammit!" Gilbert pressed 'END' on the phone, murder intent in his eyes, "Eliza, I swear, I am going to break your phone. I will break it!"

"God, Gilbert. Honestly, why don't you just go over to his house and apologize for what you did?"

"Why should _I_ apologize? I don't even know what it is that I did in the first place!"

"Huh…well, that's true." Eliza began clapping in a very sarcastic manner, "Good job, Gilbert! It's only been what? Three weeks, and already you've screwed up!"

"What, do you enjoy me screwing up?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes, yes I do. I like it. It's like tasting victory and finding out it's delicious, you know what I mean?"

"Fuck you." Gilbert threw the cell phone at her and she caught it with a grin on her face. "What should I do?"

Eliza leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a moment before straightening up. "Uhhh, nah. I got no ideas."

"Oh, well, we're definitely getting somewhere now!" Gilbert threw his hands up in the air, exasperated.

Eliza held up a finger, telling Gilbert to hold on a second. "But wait…I know someone that _can_ help us."

Gilbert looked at her confused, "Who…" The expression on his face turned to one of being horrified, "No. No way in _hell_ am I asking him for advice! Just because he's my friend doesn't mean that he can give me advice on relationships! That is the lowest of lows-"

But Elizaveta only smiled and held her cell phone out to Gilbert. "Call Francis. Do it."

**Why are you so emo, Matthew? Suck it up. Srsly. :c**

**Thank you for reading! Stay tuned to Chapter…25!**

**Which doesn't include Matthew. Sorry guys ;A; **


	25. Chapter 25

**IMPORTANT NOTE! READ THIS!**

**This is an ADD-ON to chapter 24! Which means this isn't a chapter! Which means in a couple of days, I will be editing this into the 24****th**** chapter and chapter 25 will be something else!  
**

**Exclamation point!**

"We're _not_ calling Francis." Gilbert snapped.

She pouted, "Why not? Afraid to admit you need help?"

Gilbert snorted. "_No! _I don't need anyone's help!"

"Two minutes ago you asked me for help."

"I did not."

"Yes you did."

"No. I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

The back and forth bickering reminded Gilbert of times of when he and Matthew would pointlessly argue just for the fun of it, causing him to shove his hands in his pockets and sink down lower in the couch, feeling more irritated as he glared ahead at the wall.

"Gilbert, seriously. It's like the little sad gnomes came and invaded your body."

"Well, that's just fucking great."

"Here, how about this." And Elizaveta quickly leaned across Gilbert, yanking the cell phone from his grasp. Before he could even protest, she was already dialing Francis' number and turning it on speaker. "I'll do all the talking, since you're such a big crybaby."

Gilbert scoffed, "I'm not being a fucking _crybaby._"

"Gilbert, seriously." Elizaveta snapped the phone shut in exasperation, "Then why are you acting like a PMS-ing bitch? The only other time you were like this was when you found out I was dating—"

"Don't mention their name. Seriously, I'm not in the mood." Gilbert growled as he kicked the rocking chair next to him and watched it move back and forth moodily.

"Okay then Gilbert, whatever. I visited you to have some fun, but if you're just going to wallow in your self pity instead, then go ahead. You always have been so immature."

Gilbert's left eye twitched slightly. "I'm not immature—"

"Then instead of just sitting around expecting him to answer the phone, why don't you be a man and do something?"

Gilbert looked at Elizaveta thoroughly offended. She continued, her tone slightly softer,

"Why don't you be impulsive like you always were in other relationships? All you're doing is sitting around and expecting something to happen. And I'm pretty sure that in three months you're going to wish you weren't."

Gilbert's eyes widened and Elizaveta looked back down at her guitar and begin playing the acoustic version of Duvet by Boa, quietly humming along.

Like a rubber band snapping, Gilbert stood up and walked out the front door, slamming it behind him.

…only to return a few seconds later as he walked in, grabbing Elizaveta's cell phone, and then walking back out the door.

"I fucking need this." He grumbled and slammed the door again.

Elizaveta couldn't fight back the winning grin on her face. One reason was because she finally managed after several days of pestering to get Gilbert out the door, and the other was now she was undeniably alone in his house.

"Kitchen raaaaiiiddd~!" She sang to herself and skipped into the kitchen, intent on eating some of the home made brownies she had spotted Gilbert's mom making earlier.


	26. Chapter 26

**Once this story's finished, Chapter 23, 24, and 25 are going through some heavy editing.**

**I owe all of you an apology. The last few chapters have seemed chaotic, and off track from my original storyline to this story. Yes, it's a huge mess ._.;  
**

**I just want to let you all know that please bear with this chapter. Please, for my sake. Because the next chapters will be back on track. I majorly promiiiseeee~!  
**

**Thank you!**

Matthew had a hard time sleeping. His dreams were jagged, twisted, sometimes swirling into nightmares he would wake up from to feel his clothing drenched in sweat. He couldn't remember what he dreamt about, but each time he woke up, he would lie in his bed for a long time, finding it harder and harder to drift back.

It was around eleven in the evening when Matthew woke up, his mouth dry and feeling incredibly thirsty. Rubbing his eyes he blearily looked over at his bedside clock and figured he had been asleep for about four hours. All he did lately was eat, sleep, and go to work. He didn't even have enough spirit in him to pull out his digital SLR camera, which had been a Christmas present from his parents, and shoot some pictures like he had yearned to do over the summer all school year.

He got out of his bed and walked downstairs, reaching above the sink and pulling out a glass. He was about to fill a glass up with water when the phone rang. Effectively scaring the wits out of him, Matthew jumped, accidentally smashing the glass against the counter top. He stared at the shards of glass in disdain before reaching over toward the phone. He looked at the caller ID, and didn't recognize the number. It looked like a cell phone number, and Matthew figured it was probably Alfred calling from a friend's phone, or a friend of Alfred's. Figures, Alfred would be mad at him for staying out late, when he wasn't even home half the time either.

"Hello?" He said into the phone as he began cleaning up the glass. There was no answer, so again he called, "Hello?"

"_Matthew."_

Matthew's hand slipped on a shard of glass as the familiar voice spoke to him. He stared ahead at the wall and swallowed thickly before answering. "Gilbert?"

"_Matthew. Your fucking door's locked."_

Matthew pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. Then he slowly brought it back to his ear. "I…what…are you outside my house?"

"_Woo-hoo Captain Obvious, pat yourself on the back. Now can you come and unlock this door before I _fucking_ kick it down?"_ Gilbert sounded more irritated by the minute.

"I..." Matthew didn't know what to say. He was sure this was all a dream.

"_Matthew, I swear I am so close to killing you." _Gilbert's voice was through and through a threat.

"Ah! Okay, okay which door?" Matthew said quickly, his heartbeat thudding loudly.

"_The front door."_

Matthew paused for a moment, and then took a deep breath, feeling nervous, "Alright…hold on…"

Gilbert stood outside the house, wondering what he was going to say exactly. He was holding Elizaveta's phone up to his ear and he resisted the urge to rip off the little charms she liked to put on it. About half a minute later, he heard the lock slide and the door opened to reveal a disheveled Matthew who was wearing red pajama pants and a white t-shirt. His hair was messy, leading Gilbert to believe he had been sleeping before.

Both spent a moment just staring at each other, and then Matthew hoarsely asked, "What are you doing here?"

Gilbert pulled the phone away from his ear and resisted the urge to shake Matthew. "What do you mean what am I doing here?" He said disbelievingly, "How about I ask you why you haven't been answering my calls?"

Matthew felt his face grow pale, "I—"

But he stopped when he noticed the look on Gilbert's face. It had changed from absolute fury to a mix between disgust and horror.

"Dude, your hand's bleeding."

Matthew looked down at his left hand and saw that indeed, small trails of blood were slowly flowing down to his fingertips. Turning his hand over, he saw that on his palm was a large gash that had to be nearly two inches long.

"Oh…" He said in surprise, covering his hand with his right, and wincing when he felt the throbbing. "Ow."

"Oh? How can you not notice your fucking hand was practically vomiting blood?" Gilbert looked like he wanted to hit his head off of a wall.

"I…I just…you called and I was surprised…" Matthew said as he hastily looked around for something to cover his hand with. He felt a little sick when the blood began pooling on his other hand.

Gilbert gave him an annoyed looked before he sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "Here." And before Matthew could protest, Gilbert pulled off his t-shirt and threw it at him. "Wrap this around your hand."

"Ah-!" The t-shirt hit Matthew in his face and he quickly pulled it away. It smelled really good…he resisted the urge to take another whiff of it. And then his eyes traveled over to Gilbert, standing only in a pair of jeans with no t-shirt on…

Matthew looked down to hide his blush and pressed the shirt onto his hand.

"Come on." Gilbert said as he invited himself into the house, "We need to wash it off."

Matthew bit his lip and followed Gilbert into the bathroom without protesting. Being so close to him, he wanted to wrap his arms around Gilbert and kiss him. But as he stood in front of the sink, watching the blood wash away down the drain, he felt a heavy doubt on his shoulders. A huge 'What if?'

Matthew dried off his hand, Gilbert gently took it by the wrist and examined it studiously, causing Matthew's face to grow red. After a moment of him looking at it with a frown on his face, Gilbert let go of his hand. "It doesn't look like you'll need stitches…"

"Oh…okay…thanks…" Matthew said quietly and he dabbed his palm again as it began bleeding a second time.

But Gilbert didn't hesitate. He looked Matthew directly in his eyes, daring him. "Why are you acting like this?"

Matthew looked away. It was now or never. He had to say it.

"I…a few days ago when I was at your house…I saw you with a girl…"

There was a loud groan and Matthew looked up in time to see Gilbert hit his head off of the black tile on the bathroom wall not once, not twice, but three times. _Thud. Thud. Thud._

"I can't believe it…I can't believe it…" Gilbert couldn't help it and a humorless laugh escaped his mouth. "I owe Eliza ten fucking dollars…"

Matthew wondered if he had heard right. "Ah…who…?"

Gilbert turned to him. "Shortie, listen to me. For starters, that girl that you saw me with is Elizaveta Héderváry. A friend. _Friend_. F-R-I-E-N-D. And we're definitely not dating. She's a lesbian."

Matthew stood very still for a moment, practically shell-shocked. "Oh…" He said quietly as it all sank in, "_OH._"

"Exactly. And even if I were cheating on you, I'd be a lot better at hiding it." Gilbert said bluntly.

"Oh, thanks for reassuring me!" Matthew yelped, the whole weight of the situation falling on his shoulders. Just…just…how _embarrassing_!

"You look like you want to die…" Gilbert observed with an interested look on his face.

"I do want to die…" Matthew replied weakly.

Gilbert's frown turned into a small smile before he reached over to the bathroom mirror and opened it. "We should probably wrap your hand up. Is there any plaster aid in here?"

Matthew nodded and sat on the sink counter as Gilbert pulled out some gauze. He didn't know what he felt. Relief, or just completely mortified.

Gilbert grabbed Matthew's hand again and began firmly wrapping it in the bandage.

"…you're good at this…" Matthew commented and Gilbert barked out a laugh.

"Yeah, when Ludwig and I were younger, we'd always come home with more cuts and bruises than my parents could count. Sometimes my mom would have to wrap something and after a while I kind of learned it on my own from watching her do it so much."

Matthew laughed quietly with him then lapsed into another silence, avoiding Gilbert's gaze. Why was he such an idiot? Of course Gilbert wouldn't be cheating on him just because he was talking to another person.

But…

He hadn't realized Gilbert was done wrapping his hand until he spoke.

"Don't you trust me?"

"What?" Matthew looked up into those red eyes that looked frustrated as ever.

"Well, it's just…" Gilbert paused, and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, "You see me with a girl once and you think that I'm…cheating on you? Why is that all it takes?"

"No, I…" Matthew swallowed, not sure of what to say, "It's…it's my fault. I…when I saw you hug her, I realized that…"

_You've never hugged me_. Matthew couldn't say the last words. They sounded too stupid, too foolish. But when he saw him with that girl, how happy and open they had been toward each other, it made something in Matthew a little sad, and maybe a bit jealous. And not only that, but he knew that because of his…

Gilbert seemed to realize what Matthew was getting at. He looked incredulous underneath his smirk.

"Jesus. I hug someone and that's all it takes for you to run away?"

Matthew blushed, "No! I—"

"No, nothing!" Gilbert interrupted him, "You thought I was cheating on you because I _hugged_ someone? Matthew, what planet do you live on? That's…that's beyond overreacting!" Suddenly Gilbert's eyes lit up in realization, and his voice became serious. "Wait. This whole thing that happened…is it because of your nervous disorder?"

Matthew resisted the urge to clench his fists. Pushing past Gilbert, he opened the bathroom door and walked out into the kitchen ignoring Gilbert as he called after him. He began cleaning up the glass again on the counter, being extra careful not to cut himself again.

"Hey, come on. Why are you angry now?" Gilbert asked as he walked into the kitchen right behind Matthew.

"No reason." Matthew tried to say as casually as possible, but the venom in his voice was still present.

"Matthew, I know that you're pissed—"

"And maybe I am!" Matthew snapped at Gilbert, turning to face him. "Maybe I am pissed off that everyone thinks I'm different just because I have a 'disorder'!" Matthew said the last word with as much hate that he could muster. "Maybe I am pissed off everyone treats me differently because they think something's wrong with me! Oh, so I have a disorder. What, is that my excuse now?"

Gilbert looked like he had just been slapped across the face. "No, that's not…"

Matthew looked away, gathered up the last pieces of the glass, threw them away, then quickly walked pass Gilbert.

"Matthew, wait…" Gilbert hurried up behind him and grabbed his hand.

"Let go of me!" He yelled as he tried to wrench his arm away from his grasp. "Just _let go_!" At the last two words, Matthew lifted up his hand and slammed his fist against Gilbert's chest as hard as he could. Since it was his left hand, the power wasn't as strong, and he winced as his cut began to throb from the contact, but he knew it must have hurt since Gilbert grimaced. Matthew's eyes grew wide and he drew his hand away like it was one fire. What had he just done?

"I…I'm so sorry…I…" Matthew's breathing grew faster and he tried to find a way to escape. He felt like his world was crashing down, and there was no way that he could stop it from happening.

But as he felt himself become embraced by a pair of strong arms, he stiffened up, his breath catching.

"No…" Gilbert said into his hair, "I'm sorry."

It was so warm…

Matthew threw his arms around Gilbert and held onto him like it was his lifeline.

* * *

"_You should come over to visit Eliza tomorrow. Trust me, she's not a bad person, and she would love you."_

_Matthew pouted and rested his head against Gilbert's shoulder as he looked up at the sky. After the two of them had broken apart from the hug, Gilbert had told him he couldn't stay long since he had already come there at such a late time at night. Both were reluctant to say goodbye, and they finally agreed to sit on the front porch steps for a few more minutes before he left. "You're saying that like I'm afraid of her."_

"_Maybe I am." Gilbert replied with a smirk on his face. He was wearing a black t-shirt that had 'Champion' written across the front of it in blue letters. Since the t-shirt he had given Matthew to cover his hand with looked like he had murdered someone (Gilbert's words, not Matthew's) they had gone upstairs, stashed the t-shirt away, and taken another one of Alfred's. Matthew figured that at this rate, his brother was going to start noticing the missing t-shirts_

_Matthew nudged Gilbert with his elbow. "I bet she's nicer than you are." There was a pause where the both of them just stared ahead in silence, enjoying each other's company. Then Matthew leaned in closer and wrapped his arms around Gilbert's waist. "Do you think I'm crazy?" Matthew quietly asked._

"_I don't know. You're dating me, aren't you?" Gilbert calmly replied back, as he began rubbing his hand up and down Matthew's back._

_Matthew looked up at Gilbert with a frown and affectionately flicked his nose. "Shut up. You know that's not what I meant."_

_Gilbert gave a small smile. "You're a lot of trouble."_

_Matthew huffed. "So are you."_

"_Well, then. Everything just works out in the end, doesn't it?" Gilbert said as he reached forward and squeezed Matthew's cheek, stretching it._

"_Ah-!" Matthew slapped Gilbert's hand away. "Okay, no! Don't do that! What are you, five?" _

"_Oh, come on. You're cute when you blush." Gilbert laughed and tried to pinch Matthew's cheeks again._ _Matthew wrestled in Gilbert's grasp, trying to keep his face straight, but failing miserably, and having a smile that could rival the happiest person on earth._

_And at the moment, he felt that he was that happiest person._

_When it came time for Gilbert to leave, he leaned in and whispered into Matthew's ear before he kissed him._

"_Have more confidence in yourself and the people around you for once."_

_Matthew knew that Gilbert was right. If he ever wanted to get over being so nervous, he had to get more confident that every time something went wrong, it wasn't the end of the world. _

Matthew's eyes opened and he looked around his bedroom. It was about five in the morning, judging from how the sky was slowly getting lighter. He shivered, remembering he had opened a window earlier since it had gotten so hot in his room. In the dark and without any glasses, Matthew walked over to his dresser and felt around until his hands came in contact with a hoodie. He put it on and crawled back into bed.

It wasn't until the next time that he had woken up did he realize he was wearing Gilbert's hoodie.

Being with Gilbert was different. The way he made him feel, it wasn't like anything he had ever experienced.

**Don't really have anything to say but thank you everyone for reading this story. Thank you all. Each one of you I cherish dearly in my heart.**

**I will try my best for each and every one of you!**

**And thank you, thank you, thank you!**


	27. Chapter 27

**;A;**

**Agh. Aggggghhhh.  
**

**Enjoy chapter…I donevenknow.  
**

Today was a cold day. Which was odd in the summer time, but not impossible. There was always that one chilly, breezy day where the high was only around ten degrees Celsius within all of the sweltering days that made everyone stay inside, not used to the sudden change in temperature.

Of course, Matthew didn't need to be told twice about the temperature, considering he had woken up in the middle of the night to fetch two rather heavy blankets from the closet for his bed. Even if fifty degrees wasn't really that cold, it was definitely colder than ninety-four degrees, which had been the average high for the past two months. Buried from the nose down in his blankets, Matthew took a peek at his alarm clock. He squinted his eyes since he wasn't wearing his glasses (Even though they were right next to his bed on the nightstand, he couldn't dare move a single body part out from under the blankets out into the open air) and saw that it was about eight in the morning. He was glad that he didn't have to get up for about another hour, and set to fall back asleep again, perfectly warm and content.

That was until the phone in his bedroom rang right in his ear.

At first, he had contemplated not answering the damn thing, but when he finally surrendered and checked the caller ID, he knew that they would call back a million times and more if he didn't answer.

"Gilbert, please stop calling me so early in the morning…" Was the first thing that came out of Matthew's mouth when he placed the phone to his ear, the words gravelly and slurred from how tired he was. It really made no sense to Matthew. Hadn't Gilbert once told him a long time ago that he always slept in, that he never got up before noon?

"_Hmm…methinks the lady doth protest too much."_

"Uh-huh, methinks I'm too tired to talk to you right now, Gilbert." Matthew promptly hung the phone up right after he said those words. Not even a minute later, the phone rang again. Matthew ignored it and let it go to the answering machine.

"_Shortie? Hey, it was my phone or your phone, I don't know whose, but the call was mysteriously dropped. Maybe you need better phone service. Anyway, answer the phone…now…now…how about naaaaoooowww?" _ There was a moment of silence and then a very poor imitation of Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice as Gilbert said, _"I'll be back." _ Then a click.

Matthew sighed, trying not to smile. He hid his face in his pillow as the phone rang again.

"_Shortie, unless you're getting attacked or you're dying, answer your phone. Well, at least call me first before you call 9-1-1." _ And then Gilbert hung up again.

Matthew kept listening as the messages on the answering machine kept getting more and more desperate (_"Matttt! I'm sorry I called you a laaadddyyy! Pick up your phone!"_) and tried his hardest not to laugh. Here he was, his main goal being to not answer the phone to show Gilbert that he was in no mood to talk to him at such an hour in the morning, but instead, he was now sitting up in his bed, the blankets wrapped around him with a small smile on his face, as he listened to each message Gilbert left him, contemplating whether he should answer the next one or not just to ease his boyfriend's suffering. His breath caught at the word. _Boyfriend_. That was another thing he caught himself thinking or saying out loud without even realizing it.

Around the eighth or ninth time the phone rang, Matthew had expected to hear Gilbert's voice on the answering machine, but was thrown completely off guard when instead he heard what sounded like…a girl?

"_Matthew, darling? If you're home, pick up the phone. Oh wow, that rhymes. Anyway, pick it up any day now before we die…"_

Matthew looked at the phone confused. Either that was Gilbert on the other line making his voice sound exactly like a girl's, which would be extremely bizarre, or it was someone else that was there with him? Reaching forward, he picked the phone off of the stand and answered it.

"Hello?"

A loud squeal answered him, causing him to jump in surprise. He was going to take a guess that it wasn't Gilbert that had made that noise.

"_Matthew! You answered the phone! Wow! Your voice is so cute! I really hope it doesn't change! The way you say hello is just adorable!"_

Matthew blushed. "Um, uh, who's this?"

"_Oh right! Sorry!"_ The girl sounded breathless, _"You haven't met me yet! But it's me! Eliza—"_ There was a commotion on the other end that sounded like two people were wrestling for the phone, and Matthew found out he was right when he heard Gilbert's voice come back onto the phone.

"_Don't listen to her, she's a major bitch."_ There was a protested yell on the other end, but Gilbert ignored it.

"Oh. Really now?" Matthew could have said that he knew a certain someone that fit that quota much better, but he decided not to mention it to him. But beside that, he was glad that he was able to hear Elizaveta's voice after only hearing about her from Gilbert. She sounded nice.

"_Totally. Anyway are you going to hang up on me again, or can I properly ask you what I wanted to ask in the first place? Because there's an America's Next Top Model rerun marathon that's going to show in ten minutes."_

Matthew sighed loudly to make it sound like it was a big deal that Gilbert was asking such a thing. "Fi-_ine_~" He huffed.

"_Okay, we're holding a bonfire tonight at my house since it's so damn cold. It's going to just be me, you, little bitchy here, my brother, some of his friends, and some of mine."_ Matthew heard Elizaveta quietly murmur, "Tell him there's food. That always gets them." On the other end and Gilbert instantly said into the phone, _"Oh yeah, there's going to be food."_

At first Matthew smiled and his heart sped up in anticipation. He opened his mouth to say yes, but then stopped, his smile dropping as he remembered what today was.

"I can't…I promised Alfred that I would help him set up for the party he was holding tonight…" On any normal day, Matthew probably would had decline his brother when he had asked, but the thing was, Alfred had come up to him with a grin on his face, acting as if they had not been giving each other the cold shoulder for a while, asking Matthew if he wanted to help him. Matthew was surprised and relieved, causing him to say yes, even though he had never been someone that liked to help with that kind of thing.

Matthew could hear both Gilbert and Elizaveta talking to each other now, and he figured that they must have put him on speaker phone.

"_Then just say that you can't. That something came up."_ Elizaveta said, sounding like she was shrugging her shoulders to the statement.

"Well, I would, but…" He didn't want to think of how fast Alfred's mood would change if he heard 'Gilbert' and 'bonfire' in the same sentence. Or just hearing Gilbert's name altogether.

"_Shortie, come on. Your brother has to suck it up sooner or later that you're dating such a stud."_

Matthew blushed at how casually Gilbert said the word dating. Well jeez, if Alfred was having such issues that his only brother was hanging out with Gilbert, wait until he found out he was dating him.

But he didn't want to think about that. Right now he had another problem at hand. How to tell his brother that he couldn't help set up for the party.

"I…I don't know…" Matthew said, feeling miserable. "I don't want to really help him set up, but he'll get mad if I just cancel on him."

"_He'll get over it."_ Gilbert said dismissively. _"Just make it up to him by helping him to set up some other night. But come on, shortie! _A bonfire!_ You can throw cardboard into a burning inferno that's taller than you! Think about how much fine that will be! Cardboard!"_

Matthew laughed, and then sighed. "Well, I guess so…" His laughter ceased and his eyes widened as a sudden thought struck him. "Gilbert, hold on a second…"

Jumping off the bed, Matthew walked over and looked out the window.

"Dammit, Alfred!" He cursed loudly, looking down at the empty driveway. Of course his brother would take the car. Sighing, he leaned against the wall and put the phone up to his ear again. "Alfred took the car to work."

"_So what does that leave you with? Walking in the cold weather?"_ Gilbert laughed, _"That _sucks_! I'm so glad that I don't have to work today!"_

"Good for you." Matthew ground out and turned back to the window. He sighed and was silent for a few moments until he spoke again.

"I'll call Alfred and tell him I can't help him tonight…but I don't know how I'm going to be able to get to your house since I don't have the car…"

"_Elizaveta and I can come and get you."_ Gilbert said without hesitating.

"Oh, um…is that alright?" Matthew asked, feeling embarrassed that he was asking for a ride.

"_Matthew, it's completely fine."_ Elizaveta said sweetly.

"_Yeah, believe me, she doesn't mind at all. We can pick you up where you work if you want. What time do you get off your shift?"_

"Five o'clock."

"_Well, when you get off, look for an Escalade parked in front of the café. If you don't know what that is, basically just look for that-huge-ass car in the parking lot."_

Oh. How modest. "Well, I'll keep an eye out then." Matthew said as he reached over and pulled his work uniform off of his clothing dresser.

"_Aweeeessomeeee. But anyway, we have to go and get things ready for tonight, so be good! We'll be there to get you at five! Don't do drugs! Don't have unsafe sex!"_

"Uh…I'll remember that." Matthew said, blushing furiously.

"_Remember dear! Five o'clock! I can't wait to meet you! I bet you're so adorable!"_

"T-thanks…"

After Matthew said his flustered goodbyes to the two, he stared at the phone, wondering how he was going to pull this off. Looking at the clock, he knew he still had time to call Alfred before his shift began. He told Matthew once that he always got to work a little earlier than he had to. His fingers felt like lead as he dialed his brother's cell phone number dreading the inevitable.

"_Hello?"_

"Alfred?"

"_Hey Mattie! What's up?"_

Matthew winced. Oh boy, this was going to be hard. "Um, Alfred, you know about tonight?"

"_With the party? Yeah, what about it?"_

Matthew took a deep breath. "Um…I…can't…" he said weakly, "I'm going to a bonfire tonight with Gilbert…"

He knew he could have lied. He knew he could have said that he was just busy or that he was going to hang out with some friends, but in the end, it still wouldn't have mattered. He knew Alfred would have been able to find out.

Just as Matthew had predicted, there was a moment of uncomfortable silence, before Alfred spoke again, his voice definitely not as friendly as earlier.

"_Matthew, are you—"_ Alfred cut himself off and Matthew heard someone on the other end speaking to him. Alfred responded in a curt tone, then spoke again to Matthew.

"_Whatever, I'll just ask Ivan or something."_ His voice was cold and he only said 'bye' before hanging up the phone, leaving Matthew to feel like he had something heavy in his stomach. He knew he should just say like Gilbert had said. That Alfred should just except that he was friends, or more than friends, with Gilbert. But he also felt slightly guilty. He had kind of cancelled his plans with Alfred rather unexpectedly. But still…

He sighed and put on his work uniform, wincing when he tried to do the buttons with his bandaged hand. It was still tender and throbbed every time he tried to clench his fist, but he ignored the pain and went down the stairs. He put on a jacket and tried to push away the miserable feeling in the pit of his stomach. He needed to feel positive. Positive!

But that was a bit hard, considering that walking to work wasn't fun at all. Each time a huge gust of wind blew into his face, all Matthew thought about was the heater inside of the car and how _warm_ and _cozy _it must feel. He pushed away the yearning thoughts and pulled open the café doors, knowing that today was going to be a busy day. Cold weather meant people of every kind craving warm coffee.

"Good morning, Matthew." Toris yawned and gave a tired smile. Matthew waved and slid off his jacket, throwing it onto the coat hanger. He was glad Tino had invested in extra insulation for the walls, otherwise there would have been some problems.

"You look a little cold." Toris commented and Matthew nodded, rubbing his arms. Working with Toris had come to be a lot of fun, and it was nice that they could have such easygoing conversations even though he was two years older than Matthew.

"Just a little. I've never been used to sudden temperature changes…"

"I don't blame you. We all got used to the hot weather, so it's not surprise that when it drops fourty degrees, you feel like freezing."

"Yeah…" Matthew looked around the empty coffee shop and knew that something was out of place. "Where's Tino?"

"He left a few minutes before you got here. He said something about having to drop his son off at daycare…"

Matthew looked at Toris in surprise. "He has a son?"

"Believe me, I had no clue either."

"Wow, that's just…he's so young, you wouldn't expect him to have a son…"

"I know. Uh, actually, speak of the devil…"

Matthew followed Toris' gaze as a rather expensive looking car pulled up to the curb outside of the café. They could see Tino sitting in the passenger side, and a boy with shaggy blonde hair that had his face pressed against the window in the backseat, his eyes wide in wonder as he looked at the café.

"That must be his kid." Toris said. After a few seconds of Matthew and Toris both observing the scene, Toris spoke again, "Is it bad that I want to know what his wife or girlfriend looks like?"

Matthew laughed and leaned over farther, trying to glimpse a view of the driver. "No, I was actually…ohh…"

Matthew and Toris' mouths both dropped open as the car door opened on the driver's, and the person stepped out, not revealing a woman at all, but instead…

"That's…"

"Oh my God…"

Straightening his long coat and pulling on a pair of black leather gloves was Matthew's tenth grade history teacher, Mr. Oxenstierna. (Note: Please refer to chapter 7!)

"That's…that's…" Matthew pointed a shaking finger at his teacher, unable to find the words for the horror he felt.

"That's our tenth grade History teacher? Yes, yes it is." Toris said meekly, his eyes showing the terror he was also reliving from two years ago.

Matthew still remembered the last day of school. How he made them all sit in silence as the clock slowly ticked away their freedom. It had been torture, it had been worse than the scariest horror movie ever made, it…it…

Matthew watched at Mr. Oxenstierna walked around the front of the car to the passenger side where Tino was standing, waiting for him.

"I…I don't get it. Are they friends?" Toris said uncertainly. Tino didn't seem like someone that would be friends with such a serious, aloof person.

Matthew opened his mouth to reply, but the words died in his throat. His eyes widened and he felt like someone had punched him.

Because right in front of the café, for both Toris and Matthew and the whole world to see, was Tino and their tenth grade history teacher, _kissing_.

"I…uh, I'm seeing things…" Toris laughed nervously and Matthew couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene.

"Well, whatever you're seeing much be a lot better than what I'm seeing. Because I'm seeing Tino and—"

"Mr. Oxenstierna kissing." Toris finished the sentence for him, and they both looked at each other horrified.

"This isn't a hallucination?"

"No, this…this is real…"

They watched at the couple pulled apart from the kiss, Tino laughing as Mr. Oxenstierna said something. He then reached out and touched Tino's arm, a rather affectionate gesture despite his stern composure, the frown never leaving his face, and turned away, getting into the car, Tino waving as he pulled away. Tino turned around and pushed open the door to the café.

So, there boss was gay…

And he was dating, or possibly married to, .

Matthew wanted to say that this wasn't the weirdest thing he had ever seen, but…

"Thanks for keeping an eye on things while I was gone, Toris. Berwald offered to take Peter for me, so that saved some time!" Tino smiled when he noticed Matthew looking at him, "Good morning, Matthew! You look wide awake today!"

"D-D-D, Y-yeah…" Matthew stuttered out.

"That's good! I expect that we'll be getting a lot of costumers today since it's so chilly outside…what happened to you hand?"

Matthew snapped out of his horror induced daze and looked at Tino. "Huh? O-oh…" He held up his hand and the bandages flopped around uselessly. He had changed the bandages himself that morning and had tried to mimic Gilbert's style, but to no avail, and instead, he had to make do with his loosely wrapped excuse of self first-aid. "I just cut myself on some broken glass, that's all."

"Oh, bummer. I hope everything heals okay!" Tino turned around, "The store opens in ten minutes, so make sure you two are ready!"

Tino walked into the back leaving Toris and Matthew to stare at each other with their eyes widened, and mouths hung open in shock.

"I did _not_ just see my tenth grade History teacher kissing our boss…" Toris whispered pitifully.

"Oh, yeah…yeah you did." Matthew said back, just as weakly.

After getting over the initial shock that Tino, the kindest person either had ever met, was seen kissing their history teacher, someone that they never knew could be capable of showing emotion, they got off to a rather shaky start at work as the first set of people came in.

Even though Toris had just started working at the café, Matthew loved working with him. He was kind, and on days when they were busy, Toris offered to help him, even if he also had his hands full.

"Matthew, can you get an iced coffee, no milk?" Toris asked as he rung up the current customer.

"Sure." Matthew bit back a grimace. Who would want _iced_ coffee on a day like this? He filled the cup up and passed it across the counter to the girl who thanked him and walked out of the café.

* * *

When it was his lunch break, Matthew shot out of the café, finally feeling like he could breathe. The environment had been extremely busy, and Matthew was more than glad that he was finally out of it, even if it was just for twenty minutes.

He sighed and turned into the alleyway, slipping his hand into his coat pocket, and pulling out a small can of tuna that he had stolen from the cabinet in his kitchen that morning. There was a reason he was standing in an alleyway next to bad smelling garbage and just sucking it all up, and that reason came in the shape of a small, four legged furry creature.

"Kitty?" He called uncertainly into the alleyway, feeling idiotic. He had no clue if the kitten would even still be there. But then he realized that his assumptions hadn't been so ridiculous after all when a small mewling came several feet ahead of him behind one of the city dumpsters. He kneeled down and waited several seconds and sure enough, a small tabby head popped out and stared at him curiously.

"Hey, I'm back." Matthew couldn't help but smile.

The kitten meowed again, but didn't move from his spot. Matthew had already gotten the lingo down from the kitty. Opening the can of tuna, he placed it down near the dumpster and backed away.

The kitten regarded Matthew and then the can suspiciously, but once it caught a whiff of the contents, it took a curious step forward toward the food. In a matter of seconds, it was gorging on the food always keeping a watchful eye on Matthew. When all of the food was gone, the cat looked up at him, licking its lips as it to get every last morsel possible.

"Hey…" He said softly kneeling down, and extending his arm out to the cat. "Are you going to let me pet you?"

The cat stiffened, eyeing him uncertainly, but after a moment it took a tentative step forward, sniffing his hand. Matthew smiled and made a move to pet the cat when someone suddenly blew their car horn out on the street, effectively startling the both of them, and causing the kitten to bolt back behind the dumpster.

Matthew sighed and stood up. Well, so much for that. He gave one last look at the kitten before turning and walking out of the alleyway.

He walked back into the café and cleaned some of the dishes in the sink as he waited for Toris to come back.

* * *

The end of Matthew's shift came a lot quicker than he had expected. The hours passed by considerably faster than they had in the morning, and he was thankful. He was also glad that Toris was there, exchanging jokes with him as they worked. Since the café closed at five, they usually began cleaning things up at around four-thirty and Matthew was busy stacking all the cups together in the lower cupboards when he heard the door open and someone walk in.

"We'll be with you in a second." Matthew said as he stacked some of the plates.

"What, you're going to keep me waiting? So not cool."

Matthew stopped stacking the plates and slowly turned around. It couldn't possibly be…

It was.

"Gilbert?

Gilbert was standing at the counter, his hands in the pockets of a black jacket, and his hair messily pushed to one side, most likely from the wind. He grinned at Matthew.

"Yeah, that would be me."

Matthew smiled back at him and checked the doorway to make sure no one else was coming in.

"Well, you're lucky. If you had come a few minutes earlier, I wouldn't have even been able to talk to you. Today's been really busy." Matthew stopped and looked at Gilbert suspiciously, "Wait, what are you even doing in here?"

Gilbert's mouth dropped open and he looked like he was offended. "What? So we're here half an hour early. I can't come in to say hi?"

"For you, it's always something more troublesome than just a simple 'hi'." But even as Matthew said those words, he felt his chest grow warm with excitement. Was it so wrong that Gilbert coming in just to say hi to him before his shift ended made him incredibly happy?

"If that's what you expect from me, then maybe I should just be nothing but trouble. Maybe I'll grab some of those fancy cups and plates over there and start breaking them." Gilbert was pointing to the plastic bins that people placed their dishes in after they were done.

Matthew laughed, "Please don't."

Gilbert gave him a small smile, "How's your battle wound?"

Matthew raised up his hand to show Gilbert his handiwork. "I think you're going to have to re-wrap it for me."

"Looks like it to me. Didn't your parents ever teach you any life skills?"

Matthew playfully punched Gilbert's stomach. "Not funny, okay? I actually tried my hardest."

Gilbert laughed, and placed his hand on Matthew's forearm. "You still suck at it..."

Matthew stuck his tongue out at Gilbert, then turned his head looking out the door.

"Is Elizaveta outside?"

"Yeah, see that black car out there?" Gilbert said as he pointed to it. Matthew could just make out the silhouette of a girl on the drivers side of the car, leaning back in the seat. Gilbert had been right. It really was a huge car. "I kind of had to bring her along, considering it's her car we're using."

"That's her car?" Matthew said in surprise.

"Yeah. Well, technically…"Gilbert trailed off and stared past Matthew's shoulder, his features turning down into a frown, and his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Hey…Gilbert?" Matthew looked at him confused. "What's wrong?" He glanced over his shoulder only to see Toris standing at the doorway that led to the storage room, his eyes locked on Gilbert with fear.

Right then, Matthew wasn't sure what to do, but all he knew was that he was standing inbetween two people, one looking like he was ready to murder, and the other about ready to bolt out the door in fear.

"I'll be waiting in the car." Gilbert's steely voice broke the silence, his glare never leaving Toris, "Just come out when you're ready."

Matthew watched as he whipped around and stalked out of the café. He suddenly felt chilled as shivers ran down his spine, wondering what had just happened.

**What a fail ending. But I had to get this chapter posted by Monday.**

**Why was Gilbert having a glare down with Toris? Oh eem gee…**

**Since school needs to suck some serious dick, I'll only be posting every weekend. If I'm lucky, twice every weekend! But you know, reality calls.**

**Basically, updates aren't as frequent. **

**...I feel like I'm leaving out something important...  
**

**ANYWAY. Thank you for reading!**

**(p.s. I've missed you all. Seriously. Some of you should message me and just bother me to all holy hell and back. I would love that.)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Sorry about this damn…hiatus I've pulled on all of you. You're probably all pissed, I know, but don't worry. I've got some good shit coming up…well, that's a lie, but still. At least I updated. **

**Enjoy whatever chapter this is.  
**

A stunned silence filled the air and Matthew could feel Toris' eyes boring into him, and he hoped that someone—anyone, would come in to break the awkward silence.

Right at that moment, he dreaded even thinking about what had just happened. It made him cringe.

He jumped when he heard Toris clear his throat.

"Do you know Gilbert?"

Matthew dared a glance at Toris. It wasn't an accusation or judgment. At this point, he was expecting the same kind of reaction that he had received from Alfred and Ivan. But instead, Toris only gazed at him calmly, and he even looked a bit curious.

"Uh, yeah…him and I are…friends…" Matthew blushed as he said the final word, and nervously tapped a glass off the counter.

"Really? Huh." The way Toris seemed to shrug off the whole incident made Matthew look back at him. "I never expected him to be friends with someone like you. I-I mean, with you being so quiet, and he's usually rather selfish in his own needs and, well…"

"No, it's okay," Matthew said quickly, "I know what you mean. Trust me."

Toris laughed awkwardly and shoved a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, you probably have no idea what happened back there…" He gave Matthew an apologetic smile.

"Well, I am a bit curious…" Matthew admitted, looking down in embarrassment.

"It'd be a bit weird if you weren't." Toris sighed and stretched his arms above his head. "Gilbert's actually a nice person once you get to know him, but he hates me now, so," he shrugged and began wiping down the counters, "What are you going to do?"

"He hates you?" Matthew couldn't keep the surprise from his voice. Toris seemed like the last person anyone would hate. As if reading his mind, Toris laughed and looked at Matthew.

"Yeah, it's a long story, but he has a pretty good reason to…" The smile on Toris' face fell slightly, and Matthew could tell that he wasn't really pushing the subject at hand aside as casually as he was putting on. He shook his head and looked at Matthew. "Anyway, let's get this place cleaned up. I'm going to the movies with someone at six and I want to get home and change."

Matthew sighed, and hurriedly began cleaning up for Toris' sake. By the time they had everything put away, it was only a few minutes after five, and Matthew's face hurt from laughing at Toris' ridiculous antics. As if there was some silent agreement between the both of them, they both decided not to mention what had happened earlier and just forget about it. Matthew felt more than relieved that at least one person didn't blame him for being, well, _friends_ with Gilbert. At this point, he felt as if he were walking a very thin line. Toris said goodbye to him and Tino as he walked out through the back door and Matthew sighed, leaning against the counter for a moment, gazing at the various pictures of landscapes and paintings that Tino had set up to give the shop a more home and vintage like feeling. So Gilbert hated Toris for reasons unknown, he also seemed to passionately hate Ivan for an unknown reason too. And flip the tables, Alfred hated Gilbert. Matthew knew he shouldn't have thought about it this way, but he felt like his hands were pretty full with problems that weren't his, but in a way he was indirectly involved with.

Maybe he'd ask Gilbert tonight why he didn't like Ivan and Toris. Bile rose in his throat at the thought of doing such a thing, but it seemed like such a big part of Gilbert's life that he was keeping locked away from Matthew. Matthew sighed heavily. It wasn't like he could brood on it forever, Gilbert and Elizaveta were waiting outside for him. Pushing off the counter, he grabbed his stuff, said goodbye to Tino, and opened the doors to the café.

He shivered as the wind hit him full throttle. He hadn't put his coat on yet, and his bare arms were already forming goosebumps.

Placing the bag he was holding down on the ground, he scanned the parking lot while he threw on his coat. The black Escalade he had seen just minutes earlier was nowhere in sight, and his movements slowed slightly as he stared ahead in confusion. He did a double take, making sure he hadn't overlooked the car, but there was still none in sight. Where had they gone?

His question was soon answered when a car almost ran him right over. He leapt back in surprise as the Escalade pulled up next to him, a song playing in the car so loud that the bass practically reverberated through his whole body. The windows were tinted, but he could make out two people sitting in the front seat. The passenger door was thrown open, and Matthew came face-to-face with Gilbert, looking like he was having an adrenaline rush.

"Matthew! Get in!" Gilbert's yells were mixed in with the girl on the driver side.

"Matthew, hurry! Now!" Startled, Matthew pulled open the back door and leapt in to the seat. He closed the door behind him and stared at the two people in the front, his eyes wide.

"Drive! Drive! Driiiiveeee!" Gilbert's shouts came from over the music, which Matthew now recognized as 'You're a Jerk' by the New Boyz. Man, did he remember that song. Alfred had tried to teach him the dance…once.

The girl on the driver side laughed and stepped on the gas pedal, making the car go at a speed well over what was considered legal. Gilbert turned around in his car seat, a grin on his face that could have made Matthew feel like he were turning to goo if it weren't for the current situation he was in.

"Hey! We're kidnapping you! So shut up and enjoy the ride! And I hope you hate rap music, because we're going to be listening to a lot of it!"

"Uh, d, what?" Matthew said weakly, knowing that there was no way that Gilbert could hear him over the music. They pulled up to a red light and the girl turned to look at Gilbert.

"Gilbert, switch places with Matthew! I want to meet him!" And without further ado, Matthew yelped in surprise as Gilbert suddenly crawled in between the front seats into the back, until he was practically on top of Matthew. Gilbert paused for a moment, his hands on both sides of Matthew's legs, their faces just inches apart.

"Hey there." Gilbert said innocently enough, causing Matthew's face to turn red. Gilbert laughed at his frozen expression and pushed pass him.

"Matthew, come up here! I want to see your face!" Working almost mechanically now, Matthew clumsily crawled over the front seat and managed to sit down before the light turned green. His face was flushed, and he was breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon.

"Yaaaaay! You made it Matthew!" The girl cheered, throwing her hands into the air before placing them back on the steering wheel. "This calls for better music!" Pressing a button on the CD player, the music then changed, and the car was filled with unnecessarily loud Alternative-Rock music.

"No! Fuck you!" Gilbert leaned forward from the back seat and stabbed the 'next' button on the music player, "Play Nicki Minaj!"

"Gilbert, back off!" The girl snapped and slapped his hand away. The music now was a kind of rap, but with rather interesting lyrics, _Three, six, nine, the goose drank wine~_

As the two other people battled on what kind of music to play, Matthew was partially freaking out that their was a very likely chance they were going to crash, and the other part of him was looking at the girl he was sitting next to. She was slender built in a kind of athletic way, and looked to be about the same height at Gilbert. She was wearing a rather expensive blue American Eagle jacket that had its hood lined with thick, puffy fur. Matthew could tell that she was wearing lip gloss from the way they shined slightly, and how a few strands of her hair stuck to her lips whenever she would whip her head around to snap something at Gilbert. Her hair was long and a light brown color, her bangs fluttering across her forehead as the wind blew in from the open window. Her eyes are an intense kind of green that Matthew couldn't help but stare at in awe.

At that moment, the only thing that went through his mind amidst all the chaos was, _Oh, this must be Elizaveta_.

She was extremely beautiful, and instantly with a pang of jealously, Matthew realized that if she weren't a lesbian, she and Gilbert would look perfect together

"Matthew! Matthew, say something!" Elizaveta shouted, startling the wits out of Matthew.

"U-uh, yes?" Was all that he could muster out. Elizaveta laughed and banged her hands on the steering wheel, apparently greatly amused.

"Oh my God, you're so _cute_! So much cuter than I imagined! A hundred times cuter! Gilbert! I'm so proud of you!" She called to the back, a huge smile on her face.

"You know I only do it for you, Eliza!" Gilbert called back, sprawled across the backseat. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Matthew wondered how in the world he had gotten over the fear of being in a car so fast. He decided that he had bigger things to worry about right then.

"Hey, Matthew! I heard that you've been the cause of Gilbert's problems lately!" Elizaveta stated matter-of-factly.

"Um…"

"I gotta give you props, man! Gilbert never has problems, and he needs to start getting some! Fist bump!" And of all things random, Elizaveta suddenly shoved her fist in front of Matthew's face, giving him little time to react. "Fist bump! Do it!"

Quickly, as if he feared something would happen if he acted too slowly, Matthew hastily bumped his fist to hers, wondering what in the World was going on.

"Screw you, Eliza! I have more problems than you! Last time I checked, I don't steal my dad's credit card."

"Shut up, Gilbert! That was like, two years ago, alright?" Elizaveta snapped, even though she still had a smile on his face.

Matthew heard Gilbert mimic Elizaveta's last sentence, and he tried to hide the small laugh that escaped from his mouth, but Elizaveta noticed and looked at him.

"Matthew, I don't know what I'm going to do with you! You're too cute!"

"And get this, Eliza!" Gilbert called from the backseat, "He plays hoekiny!"

They were stopped at a light in a most residential area and she whipped her head around to stare at Matthew, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

"He plays hoekiny." She stated.

"He plays hoekiny." Gilbert repeated.

"You play hoekiny." Elizaveta said breathlessly.

"Y-yeah..." Matthew said, looking at Gilbert, then back to Elizaveta. "Um, why do you guys call it that?"

"Call what, what? Hoekiny?" Gilbert asked.

"Yeah…why don't you call it hockey?"

"We do. Hoekiny." Elizaveta replied.

"No, that's…" Matthew decided not to finish his sentence. Either they were calling it wrong just to drive him mad, or they were both struck with the same kind of speech impediment that caused them to mispronounce sport names. He could have sworn he had heard Gilbert call Football 'fretball' the other day.

"Matthew, you just keep getting more and more amazing the more I learn about you. How was Gilbert able to hook up with you? Surely you've got the people lined up, all waiting for you to go out with them."

Matthew laughed quietly, "That's not really the case…" _More like the opposite_, Matthew thought in the back of his mind.

"Lies!" Elizaveta shouted. "That's a lie! And besides, no one in their right mind would date Gilbert! He's a slob!"

"Shut up, Eliza!"

"You shut up, Gilbert! Matthew, how much is he paying you?"

Matthew laughed, "He isn't paying me anything!"

"That's a lie! It's all lies! I know Gilbert! He probably paid you extra so that you wouldn't reveal how much he's paying you! I knew it!"

"Yeah, Eliza. That's totally what's going on. Totally." Gilbert's said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"I'll find out how much he's paying you, Matthew! Take my word for it!"

"O-okay…" Matthew said, trying to stifle his laughter.

"Shortie, Elizaveta may seem like a crazy bitch, but you'll get used to her!"

"Gilbert, he's already used to you! I don't know how he couldn't be used to me!"

"Well, you're a woman."

"Oh. Right, that makes all the difference." Elizaveta turned and rolled her eyes at Matthew, and he smiled, trying not to laugh.

It had been, what? Five- ten minutes? And already, Matthew could tell that Elizaveta was an easy going kind of person, acting like she had known Matthew for years, when in fact, it had only been minutes.

And maybe it was because Elizaveta was a girl, but she was accepting and if Matthew wasn't mistaken, encouraging him and Gilbert's relationship. He sighed, wishing that everyone could be this easy going about their relationship. But then again, if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. And it wasn't like coming out of the closet was that easy to begin with. Matthew sighed wistfully. Maybe he'd somehow manage without getting some kind of stress hemorrhage.

And he didn't want to admit it, but the fact that Elizaveta seemed to be supporting the relationship didn't make him feel as jealous.

They pulled into the driveway of Gilbert's house, both Gilbert and Elizaveta leapt out of the car, Matthew following slowly (and cautiously) behind.

"God, it's fucking cold! Why's it so cold?" Gilbert shouted up at the sky and Elizaveta laughed. But Matthew had to agree with him. It was freezing.

"Gilbert, I'm going to raid your kitchen!" Elizaveta called over her shoulder as she walked toward the house.

"Yeah, have fun." Gilbert waved dismissively to her and turned to Matthew. "God, you wouldn't fucking believe how much she eats."

Matthew looked at him. "Gilbert, you hypocrite. You eat too much yourself."

Gilbert grinned, "Well, whatever. But seriously. What do you think of her?"

Matthew smiled. "Aside from the fact that my first impression of her was you two kidnapping me? I think she's really nice.

"Nice? Ha! She's crazy. But whatever," Gilbert reached forward and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the house. "Let's get you changed out of that work uniform."

Matthew feebly waved his hand, in a half witted attempt to try to get his hand free. "I can get changed by myself, thank you."

Gilbert laughed and turned to him. "I didn't mean it like _that_. Besides, it's cold as hell."

Matthew didn't protest anymore and Gilbert pulled him through the front door and up the stairs. He could hear who he assumed to be Elizaveta in the kitchen, but other than that, the house seemed pretty barren.

"Where is everyone?" He asked.

"My parents are off somewhere, and Ludwig's hanging out with some friends." Gilbert explained before pointing at the bag that Matthew had been holding. "Is that your change of clothes?"

Matthew nodded and held the bag up. "I also put some wrap in here so that you could re-wrap my hand…" He trailed off in embarassment.

Gilbert snorted. "You're absolutely helpless. What would you do without me?"

Matthew blushed, finding it hard to concentrate on what Gilbert was saying. All he could really think about was how warm his fingers felt on his skin.

"Y-yeah…"

"But, I'll do it for you, since I'm nice like that. And I hope you didn't bring any skinny jeans, because those are just gay."

Matthew blinked, wondering if Gilbert had thrown in the instance of irony on purpose. "Yeah, no kidding."

"Totally. Besides, you're going to have to help us carry the wood…that's what she said." Gilbert added as an afterthought, before shoving Matthew into the bathroom. "Now, go change." He commanded.

Matthew stumbled slightly as the door closed behind him. He stared at the door for a few seconds before he sighed and opened up the bag, dumping his clothing out onto the bathroom counter.

"So, what do you _really _think of Eliza?" Gilbert's voice came from through the door, giving Matthew the mental image that he was leaning against the doorframe. "Don't worry, I won't tell her."

"I already told you. I think that she's nice." Matthew said as he unbuttoned his work shirt. He heard Gilbert's muffled laugh.

"You don't have to lie, babe. We're not stupid. We know that you think we're crazy."

Matthew's hands stilled and he looked up at the door, his mouth pulled down at the corners in a frown.

"Did you just call me babe?"

"I did. What about it?"

"You…" Matthew shook his head, glad that Gilbert couldn't see him blushing, and slipped off the shirt, letting it fall to the ground, "Never mind."

"But really. Eliza is nice. Nicer than me, which is hard to believe." Yeah, right. "We're just like this because we've known each other for a long time."

"How long?" Matthew asked in curiosity as he slipped on a pair of jeans.

"God, before I knew Francis or Antonio. I've probably known her since she was rocking out in the uterus."

Matthew laughed, "Oh really?"

"Really."

"She's pretty…" Matthew muttered and then flushed in embarrassment, wondering why he had just said that out loud.

"You're not going to cheat on me with her, are you?"

"Oh, you know me Gil. I'm totally going to ditch you and go for her." Matthew said sarcastically.

"See, this is why I didn't want you to meet her. I knew that she would have you the moment you saw her."

Matthew laughed, "Yup. I'm totally under her spell." His smile faded as he put his uniform back into his bag, causing him to remember the events from earlier. He had forgotten to ask Gilbert about it. "Hey, Gil?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, earlier…in the coffee shop. You looked like you…_knew_ Toris…"

There was silence on the other side of the door and Matthew held his breath. He figured that he would just take a chance and see if he could get anything out of him.

"What about it?" The reply finally came, the laughter in Gilbert's voice gone.

"I…I was just wondering why you were, I mean, you looked mad and stuff…" Matthew sighed, feeling pitiful. He couldn't even form a coherent sentence. He walked toward the door and pulled it open, coming face to face with Gilbert.

Even though he was frowning, his expression quickly disappeared as he looked Matthew up and down, a small grin on his face.

"Well, don't you look…nice."

Matthew blushed and tugged at the black and red plaid shirt he was wearing. What was with that reaction? "Yeah, okay, great. Now, answer my question." Matthew said quickly, getting the words out before his confidence failed him.

Gilbert frowned, looking as if someone had told him he had to clean the dishes before he could have dessert and sighed. He pushed his hand through his hair.

"I know Toris from…a while back. It's no big deal. Don't worry about it. It has nothing to do with you."

Matthew tried to hide his slight frustration. How was it that both of them had given him such similar answers? "That's not what I was askin-"

"Nu-uh. I know. And I told you not to worry about it." Gilbert said with finality and Matthew sighed in defeat. Looking around the room, he decided to change the subject. He found a new one quite quickly, and he asked a question that he had been wondering about since he had spent the night at Gilbert's house for the first time. "Why's your room so empty?" Gilbert's room consisted of a bed, some posters on the wall, and a desk. Nothing more.

"Huh?" Gilbert murmured, sounding like he was distracted.

"Your room. There's hardly anything in it…" Matthew turned his head to look at Gilbert and saw that he wasn't even looking at him. Well, he was, but not at his face. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Sure I am. But where did you get that shirt?"

Matthew's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What?"

"That shirt. Where did you buy it?"

"Um, I don't know, I think my mom bought it somewhere…wait, why are you even asking me this?"

Gilbert looked up at him, a grin on his face. "You should wear more shirts like this."

Matthew's jaw dropped. Okay, so maybe the shirt was a bit slim fitting, and it hugged his body slightly. But _really_…

"Do you have any shame?" Matthew asked, and Gilbert grinned.

"If I say no, will you still kiss me?" He asked slyly, wrapping his arms around Matthew's waist.

Matthew raised one eyebrow and gave Gilbert his best 'I-don't-think-so' face. "And if I don't want to?"

"Well, then that's too bad. Because I'd rather that we did." And Gilbert leaned forward. Matthew was hooked and ready to kiss him right back, but he figured that he deserved to get his fair share of revenge for Gilbert not answering his question. He lifted his hand and gently placed it against Gilbert's mouth.

"How about you re-wrap my hand first?" He asked innocently. Gilbert blinked at him, caught off guard. He looked like he had no idea what was going on for a moment before he pulled away, a small growl vibrating in the back of his throat.

"You really think you can get away with something like this? Fucking tease." Gilbert asked in an irritated tone, but took the gauze from Matthew and went to work re-wrapping his hand.

* * *

"Where do I put these?" Matthew asked Gilbert as he picked up several of the logs from the woodpile in the garage. After Gilbert and Matthew were done 'relaxing' for a few minutes, they had gone downstairs, met Elizaveta in the kitchen (who exclaimed how adorable Matthew looked in his t-shirt), and they all went outside to start getting the wood ready for the bonfire. Matthew was surprised to find that in Gilbert's garage, they had piles upon piles of firewood, probably enough for a third-world country.

Matthew shrugged his shoulder slightly, the gray fleece windbreaker Gilbert had lent him slipping down his shoulders. Gilbert had insisted that he wore it, considering his jacket looked like it cost nearly a thousand dollars. Matthew had decided not to comment on that.

"Just follow Elizaveta. She knows where to put it." Matthew nodded and walked out of the garage, spotting Elizaveta walking across the field in the direction of the forest. He swallowed nervously and looked away, choosing to instead watch as Gilbert's dogs ran back and forth across the yard.

"Hello Matthew." Elizaveta greeted, smiling. He returned the smile and dropped the wood down next to hers.

"Do you go to school here?" Matthew asked curiously. He had never seen her before now.

Elizaveta shook her head. "Nah. I used to. But then around eleventh grade, I got accepted to a private school and transferred there. Have you ever heard of Allomere: Musical and Fine Arts Academy?"

Matthew shook his head.

"Yeah, I kind of figured. See, it's about three hours from here, but as you can tell from the name, it's a private school for people who are 'inclined and dignified' and have a 'refined taste in the arts'," Elizaveta formed quotes with her fingers as she said the words. "But, in other words, if you have a lot of money, that works too."

"So you…play an instrument?" Matthew asked.

"I play acoustic guitar. But that's just something I do for fun. They accepted me into the school because of my singing."

"That's pretty cool…" Matthew couldn't help but say out loud. Elizaveta laughed.

"Thanks. Yeah, I guess it is. But come on, if we spend any longer out here, Gilbert's going to wonder what happened to us." They both began walking back across the field, the small pinch of anxiety in Matthew's chest melting away as he walked further away from the forest.

"What happened to your hand?" Elizaveta asked and Matthew jumped. He had been a bit lost in his thoughts.

"Oh…" He held up his hand pitifully. "I cut it on some glass a few days ago."

"Ouch." Elizaveta said sympathetically and she pulled open the door to the garage. "That sucks."

"Yeah…"

"Wow, could you two possibly work any slower?" Gilbert said, sounding irritated.

Elizaveta crossed her arms. "And I see that you've been working hard."

"Damn right I have."

"Yeah, okay. I'm having more fun talking with your Canadian boyfriend anyway." Matthew blushed and adjusted the pile of wood he had in his hands and followed after Elizaveta, trying to ignore the fact about eighty percent of their conversations were about him.

"You know I'm Canadian?" Matthew couldn't help but ask.

Elizaveta threw her head up toward the sky and laughed out loud. "Oh man, Matthew. Do I ever! You'd be surprised. Gilbert talks about you quite a lot."

Matthew wondered if he should consider that a compliment or not.

* * *

Nearly an hour after lugging wood back and forth, Matthew had only one thing to admit. Gilbert's mom was a really good cook. Sitting on the couch with Gilbert and eating leftovers was not how he had planned to spend his evening, but he felt absolutely sure that he was eating the best potato scallops in the world.

"_My room is the G-spot, call me Mr. Flintstone, I can make your bed rock…"_ He heard Gilbert sing Bed Rock by Young Money quietly next to him as he flipped through TV channels. But this wasn't anything new to Matthew, nor Elizaveta. In fact, he had probably sung that same line almost thirty times in the past fifteen minutes. Next to him, sitting in a recliner, he heard Elizaveta groan as she tore her gaze away from the latest issue of _Cosmopolitan_.

"Gilbert, really? If those are the only lyrics you know, then look them up. Because, I swear if I hear you sing that same line again, I will kill you."

And it was true too. Matthew was pretty close to hitting Gilbert over the head, but he couldn't, considering the only kind of weapon he had was the plate with potato scallops on it, and he definitely didn't want to waste those.

"Shut up, it's a good song." Gilbert replied distractedly as he watched a commercial that showed a preview to the next episode of _Jersey Shore_.

"A good song? Wow, what kind of drugs have you been taking?" Elizaveta rolled her eyes and turned to Matthew, "I bet the only reason he likes the song is because Nicki Minaj sings in it."

Gilbert jumped to his own defense quite quickly. "Hey, Nicki Minaj is awesome, okay?"

Elizaveta scrunched up her nose."Yeah, I know, you and your little crush on Nicki Minaj. Besides, what does Matthew think about this?"

"Eh?" Both Gilbert and Matthew said at the same time, looking up at Elizaveta with equally lost expressions.

Elizaveta sighed. "Matthew, does Gilbert flirt with girls even when you're around?"

Matthew looked away uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head. "Um, well, not really…I mean, once before we were…yeah, he did kind of smile at some girls while we were at the mall. But that wouldn't be considered flirting…would it?" Now Matthew turned his head toward Gilbert with a look of uncertainly.

Gilbert looked visibly flustered. "Don't look at me like that. And stop _glaring _at me!" Gilbert snapped at Elizaveta.

"Gilbert, you flirt with _girls_ when you're with Matthew?" Elizaveta looked horrified.

"Okay, you're not a relationship therapist, and I haven't been flirting with anyone. You're just being paranoid."

"Gilbert, sometimes I wish someone would punch you like they punched Snooki." Elizaveta huffed, crossing her arms.

Gilbert's flustered expression shattered and broke into a grin. "Only if Snooki's the one to punch me, then I'll be happy."

Elizaveta threw her hands up. "Whatever. Matthew, I feel so sorry for you."

"Hm?" Matthew had tuned out the conversation just moments ago, and looked up at Elizaveta in confusion.

"I don't think he heard a single thing we've said. He's too busy eating potatoes." Gilbert commented, and Matthew blushed, looking down.

"These scallops are really good…" He admitted meekly, causing the other two to laugh.

"If you really love the food that much, you can have the rest. That is, as long as Elizaveta doesn't eat them all, like she ate my mom's goddamn brownies." Gilbert turned his head to glare at her.

"Hey! I…they were really good, okay? And besides, who let me in your house? That's right, you did."

"Well, that doesn't mean that you can eat all of my food!"

"Yeah, well, I deserved compensation of some kind after helping you with your relationship, you hopeless bastard…"

Matthew looked up at the both of them. Were they talking about him and Gilbert's relationship again?

"Yeah, well compensation usually means money, not eat everything in your way. And besides, I could have just called Francis instead."

"Oh, well guess what, genius? You didn't call him. You complained that you were too awesome to talk to someone like him. Remember?"

Matthew looked at Gilbert. "You were going to call Francis?" He had told Matthew about Francis getting angry at him when they had gone to see him earlier.

Gilbert opened his mouth, and then closed it as he looked at Matthew's expression. He crossed his arms and looked away.

"Ignore him, Matthew." Elizaveta said, "He's got too much pride to admit that he's afraid Francis is still mad at him."

"No, that's not true." Gilbert snapped, but Elizaveta raised one eyebrow, looking unimpressed.

"Gilbert, from what you've told me, I'm pretty sure I'd be mad if I were in Francis' position too. But I bet he wouldn't mind if you called him by now." Elizaveta said in an attempt to comfort him.

Gilbert look conflicted and Matthew hesitantly added, "You should call him…"

There was silence for a moment as Gilbert and Elizaveta both turned to look at Matthew.

"You know, does Matthew know there's going to be beer here?" Elizaveta suddenly said, completely changing the subject. But Gilbert seemed relieved by the change.

"I think he would have figured that. I mean, usually bonfires consist of drunk people running around and trying to jump over the fire."

"Yeah, but still…" Elizaveta turned to Matthew. "You do know that we're going to have alcohol here, right?"

Matthew nodded his head. He had figured that if there was some sort of gathering that involved Gilbert, there was going to at least be beer.

"Elizaveta, you're making it sound like he's making a bad decision."

"Well, Gilbert, last time I checked, people usually like to know what's going on when they go to an event of some kind. It's like inviting someone to a black-tie affair, and not telling them anything other than it being a party, so they show up in a pair of sweatpants."

Gilbert snorted. "Elizaveta, that chemo went to your head. You used to be so much fun. Now you want nothing to do with alcohol."

Matthew looked at Elizaveta. What did Gilbert mean by chemo? As in chemotherapy?

"Gilbert, you know I haven't been completely converted. But you have to admit, after what happened two years ago, you'd want to be a little more careful too."

"Yeah, that was pretty fucked up." Gilbert agreed.

"What happened?" Matthew piped up in curiosity. Elizaveta and Gilbert both looked at each other, equally reminiscent expressions on their faces.

"Two years ago, Lars brought some LSD to the bonfire we were holding, and all of us decided to try some of it."

"Who was all there that year?" Elizaveta asked, looking like she was trying to remember.

"Uh…You, Ludwig, Feliciano, Lars, Antonio and Francis…Ashley and Tove…"

Elizaveta made a face at the last two names. "Ew. Don't remind me."

Gilbert snickered. "What? Are you still bitter about them?"

"You would be too if that bitch was your friend."

"I know, you told me all about it, like five million times. Anyway." Gilbert turned back to Matthew, "So we all tried some, and long story short, the next thing I remembered was waking up lying in the bathtub in my bathroom with all of my clothing on, and the cold water running."

"I wondered how you didn't get hypothermia. Or that you didn't drown."

Gilbert shrugged. "Hey, at least I was wearing clothing. Unlike Francis."

Matthew raised an eyebrow and Elizaveta laughed at his expression.

"Yeah, we don't know where he had gone, but he came into the house with only blanket wrapped around himself, and he was asking Gilbert if he had any clothes to spare."

"He didn't seem too worried about it, from what I can remember." Gilbert added in, "He seemed almost like he didn't mind walking around naked all day at all if he could have."

"That's Francis for you. Personally I still love Antonio's part of the story."

Gilbert laughed and turned to Matthew, his eyes shining, "Antonio was one of the last people to get back, and when he did, he was talking all weird. He kept saying that his parents were going to kill him. At first we were pretty freaked out, and we thought that he had gotten caught by the police or something, but instead we found out that he had hijacked his parents car and went out and bought $200 worth of tomatoes."

Elizaveta laughed. "I remember that! All those crates filled with tomatoes! God, that was great…"

"Basically we couldn't remember a single thing that had happened that night. But all we know is that none of us were caught, and we all decided that it was too risky to ever do that again." Gilbert concluded.

"Man, all I know is that we all expected Ludwig and Feliciano to have a story to tell, but the only exciting thing that happened to them was that they both passed out in the same bed." Elizaveta looked crestfallen as she said this statement.

"Nothing affects my brother except for beer, I swear." Gilbert said in an irritated tone as if he always had plans up his sleeve to see what affected his brother, "Even when he smokes weed, he just passes out, I don't get it."

"Maybe it just doesn't affect him." Elizaveta laughed. "Just like Lars."

"No, Lars has smoked so much that he's just become immune." Gilbert snickered slightly.

"Who's Lars?" Matthew asked and Gilbert gave him a weird look.

"Don't you remember..? He was that one dude at the party that was passing around the weed."

Matthew bit the inside of his cheek and tried to remember the face. But all he could really remember was some sort of fuzzy silhouette.

"I know what you're talking about…but I don't remember what he looks like or anything."

"Oh, you must have been too drunk by then." Gilbert waved off dismissively and Elizaveta gasped.

"You let him drink beer?" She asked in looking absolutely stunned.

"Well, of course I did!" Gilbert huffed, seeming rather proud of his actions, "Good ol' beer never hurt anyone! Besides, you're fine, aren't cha Shortie?" And with that Gilbert reached out a hand and ruffled his hair. Matthew glowered and him and tried to fix his tangled locks while Elizaveta looked at Gilbert with disapproval. A moment later, she turned to Matthew.

"Well, anyway, before we got sidetracked, are you sure that it's fine?" She asked him.

"Y-yeah, it's fine." Matthew said quickly, "I mean, when my brother holds parties, he usually has more than just beer there, and our parents don't really mind."

Gilbert and Elizaveta's mouths both dropped simultaneously.

"What do you mean that your parents don't mind? Why in the world are you sprouting such nonsense?" Elizaveta asked skeptically.

Matthew laughed nervously and raised his hand to brush a piece of his hair behind his ear. He hated when he did that. It was so girly, and whenever he did it, he would never catch himself in time.

"Well, my parents aren't really around a lot, and when they're away, we're allowed to hold parties and stuff. We just have to make sure everything's cleaned up before they come home, and as long as they don't hear anything about it, they're fine not knowing. They don't mind alcohol though, as long as we stay out of trouble and keep our grades up…" Matthew trailed off at the final sentence. Some of his grades were absolute _crap_.

"No frickin' way." Elizaveta said in disbelief. "What kind of parents just allow you to do stuff like that?"

"Eliza, I forgot to tell you that he's, like, super rich." Gilbert added in as if he were just realizing it.

"No _way_." Elizaveta said in surprise. "You're rich?" She asked looking at Matthew.

Matthew sunk down into the couch slightly, "Er…I guess…"

"How modest." She laughed and looked at Gilbert, "You never told me he was rich."

"Well, it never really came up." Gilbert shrugged.

"Does his house look nice?"

"It's fucking huge."

"Well, that would explain something, I guess." Elizaveta said, turning back to Matthew, "I mean, about the whole party thing. Because of the school I go to, a lot of rich people go there, and I've been to a few of their parties, and I've always wondered how they can hold so many of them and not get in trouble with their parents."

"Sometimes I wish I were some rich bastard that had money to waste." Gilbert said wistfully and Elizaveta snickered before her face pulled on a troubled look. "Hey Gilbert, I keep thinking that there was someone else at the party, but I can't seem to remember who they were…"

"There wasn't anyone else there." Gilbert said facetiously, but in a way that caused Matthew to look at him weird. He sounded like he wanted to change the subject quickly.

"Are you sure? Because I keep thinking there was…"

"I'm sure." Gilbert said a bit firmly.

Elizaveta shrugged, "Well, okay then. I have no clue why I keep thinking that though…"

The subject was dropped and Gilbert turned to Matthew to ask him what was going on in the hockey game that was playing on TV. But at the same time, Matthew couldn't help but wonder that he seemed a bit too relieved when they had changed the subject.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set outside when Gilbert convinced the both of them that they should head back out and start the bonfire. Matthew asked why they weren't going to wait until everyone arrived, and Gilbert simply replied, "Have you ever seen drunk people try to start a fire?"

And so, he walked with Gilbert into the garage to get what he assumed was a box of matches, but instead to his great surprise, Gilbert handed him a can of lighter fluid.

"Gil, why…?" He trailed off, holding the lighter fluid uncertainly in his hands. Gilbert only grinned at him.

"Trust me. It's so much fun to start a fire this way."

And it was. Well, only a bit. A lot more fun for Gilbert and Elizaveta who cheered enthusiastically as the flames exploded around the wood after throwing just one match onto the pile. Matthew on the other hand looked horrified as the fire quickly towered over his head.

"Gilbert, I think you used a little bit too much…"

"Nonsense! If the fire dies down, we'll just put more wood on it! Besides, we have cardboard in the garage. Great for a growing fire."

Matthew sighed and decided not to tell Gilbert that wasn't what he meant. He just hoped that someone would be sober enough to call 911 if anyone caught on fire.

"I wish Ludwig would get here already." Gilbert whined. "I want to drink some beer already!"

"Who's all coming?" Matthew asked. He remembered Gilbert telling him that a few other people were going to be there.

"Uhhh, Eliza, who's all coming again?" Gilbert asked, looking toward her.

"Well, aren't a few of your brother's friends coming? That would mean Feliciano and Kiku then, right?"

"Feli is definitely going to be here. He wouldn't miss an event if Ludwig was going to be there. I don't know about Kiku though, he's kind of reserved. Not really the party type."

"Feli is sooo cute, I miss him so much!" Elizaveta squealed out, "I haven't seen him in so long! Is he still adorable?"

"Hell yeah he is. And his brother is still one huge son-of-a bitch."

Elizaveta laughed, "Romano never liked either of you."

"Romano doesn't like anyone."

Elizaveta pouted then. "Not even Antonio?"

Gilbert seemed to freeze momentarily, a pained expression pulling across his face. Matthew felt his heart clench up. He was faced with the sudden urge to pull Gilbert into a hug and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But even before he could react on such a ridiculous impulse, someone was shouting Gilbert's name from across the field.

"Hey! Gilbert!" Gilbert's head snapped up and the lost expression disappeared from his face, replaced with a huge grin.

"Of all people to show up first, it's Lars?" Elizaveta said, rolling her eyes.

"Of course he would show up first. Lars would never miss a party."

Matthew squinted and watched the figure come closer. Lars was a bit taller than Gilbert, and he had short brown hair that was modeled so that it was sticking up at the front in a kind of faux hawk hairstyle. His eyes were dark and his entire aura gave off a kind of lazy disposition, almost as if he were always walking around half-asleep.

"Shit, what's happening?" He drawled out as he pulled Gilbert into a hug. Gilbert only laughed.

"Dude, are you high already?"

Lars grinned at Gilbert and shrugged. "Hey, I got some good stuff this time around. I couldn't resist trying it out before I got here. But damn, what's with the weather?" He shivered, rubbing his hands up and down his arms.

Elizaveta rolled her eyes. "It's something called a cold front."

Lars turned toward Elizaveta, his grin turning crooked. "Hey, I missed you too, baby." He began to move toward her, his arms outstretched.

Elizaveta looked like she was trying to laugh as she ducked out of his way. "Don't you dare hug me, you pervert!"

"Aww, come on! You know you missed me!" Lars caught Elizaveta and she shrieked, trying to break out his grasp, but he held her firmly around her waist.

"Ew, get off of me! You smell like you haven't showered in days!" Elizaveta repeatedly slapped his arms until he finally let go. When she was at a safe distance, she glowered at him.

"Have you ever heard of D.O. for your B.O.?" She snapped, straightening out the nonexistent wrinkles on her coat.

Lars laughed, completely unphased. "Come on, what kind of greeting is that?"

"A sensible one." Elizaveta said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Lars, you smell really bad."

Gilbert leaned over toward Lars and sniffed his shoulder. Matthew thought it was one of the weirdest things he had ever seen him do.

"Elizaveta, that's the weed you're smelling." Gilbert informed her after a moment.

"I _know_." Elizaveta rolled her eyes, "But it still smells bad."

"I miss the old you." Lars said, "I remember you used to make the best fucking hash brownies." He winked at her.

"Well, that was back then." Elizaveta sighed, "Anyway, we have someone else here this year." And she pointed her thumb toward Matthew.

What happened next had to go down at one of the top ten most embarrassing moments in Matthew's life. Lars turned to him, his eyebrows raising in surprise, and then he grinned lazily at him, almost looking rather, well, suggestive.

"Well, hey. Who's the nice looking lady?"

Matthew's face turned so red, he felt like he was running a sudden fever. It didn't help when Gilbert and Elizaveta both burst out laughing hysterically. Matthew hid his face in his hands.

"What? What is it?" Lars asked, his smile now uncertain.

"Lars, this is Matthew," Gilbert snickered, "Matthew Williams."

"Ohh…" Lars turned toward Matthew and stared at him for a few moments as if he were registering the information, "Ohh! Shit, man! I'm sorry!"

Matthew feebly waved him off, not sure of how to respond.

"_Wow_, Lars. Only you would screw that up." Elizaveta said, running a hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears.

"Hey, shut up! So I thought he was a girl for a second, is it my fault that he looks like one?" Matthew bit his lip, trying to ignore the slight pain in his chest. _Looks like a girl…_ Those words were so familiar that he could have sworn he had heard them before. In fact, he _had_. He looked up, and saw that Gilbert was looking at Lars in a slightly irritated manner.

"Lars, shut up. You talk too much."

"Hey, you know you love me." Lars said, shrugging.

"Yeah, we all love that you smell like a hobo." Elizaveta teased as she pushed him playfully with her one hand.

The three of them continued talking about things that didn't really make much sense to Matthew, and he watched the fire in faint interest. He was so lost in his thoughts that when he finally registered that Gilbert was saying his name, he jumped.

"What?" He said, and looked around bewildered when he realized that they were the only ones standing by the fire. "Where did Elizaveta and Lars go?"

Gilbert huffed. "Lars went to go smoke more weed in the woods. He can't go a whole hour without smoking any. And Elizaveta went with him, even though I have no idea why."

Fear clutched at Matthew's chest. Even if he had only just met the two people…

Whipping his head around, he looked at the forest, silhouetted by the darkening sky, and then looked back at Gilbert.

"Wait, in the forest?" He tried to stay calm, but he was beginning to breathe faster than normal.

"Yeah, it's the only place here that he probably won't get caught. I swear that all of our neighbors are part bloodhound."

Almost mechanically, Matthew's head jerked toward Gilbert, "S-shouldn't we get them?"

Gilbert paused for a moment, "Why?"

"Because, it's dangerous, and it's dark…"

"Matthew."

Matthew turned around to look at Gilbert, whose mouth was set in a grim line. The fire reflected in his eyes, causing them to look darker than normal. Like blood.

"Listen to me, they'll be fine. In fact, they're probably just sitting right at the entrance. It's just too dark see them."

Matthew looked unsure. "B-but…"

Gilbert sighed and extended his arm out, placing it against the back of Matthew's head. In one motion, he pulled Matthew toward him so his head came to rest again his chest. "Listen to me. Lars is smart despite the way he acts, and Elizaveta probably just went with him to make sure he won't do anything stupid. Even though they annoy each other, they actually care about each other a lot. They'll be back in less than twenty minutes."

Matthew's eyes were wide as his nose was pressed against Gilbert's shirt. His mind was short circuiting, no longer worried about the woods, or about Elizaveta or Lars. Instead, it seemed to only be repeating the only coherent thing he would think of at the moment. _He smells nice, he smells nice, he smells nice, he smells _so_ nice_…

"Okay…" Matthew muttered and rested the side of his head against Gilbert's chest. He suddenly felt calmer hearing Gilbert so confident and sighed, trying to push away the black fear that was trying to fill him.

After a moment of silence, Gilbert pulled away. "Feeling better?"

Matthew nodded, forcing a small smile.

"Good. Then that means I can do this." And Gilbert leaned forward, brushing his lips against Matthew's, leaving him breathless. Matthew expected more, but when Gilbert pulled away with a smirk on his face, he could only sigh in frustration.

"I guess that's what they mean when they call someone a tease." Matthew pouted.

"I'm flattered." Gilbert raised a hand and lightly touched Matthew's cheek. "You look good with that coat on."

Matthew looked down at Gilbert's fleece jacket and smiled as he put his hands in the pockets. "It's a bit big on me."

"Maybe you'll grow into it."

"Oh, I'm sure." Matthew felt himself leaning in toward Gilbert's hand, even though he was barely touching his cheek. It felt so warm, as if the sun were shining right then. "Kind of like I'll stop looking like a girl."

Gilbert laughed quietly. "Don't worry about what Lars said. He's practically crazy even when he isn't smoking anything."

Matthew laughed, then looked down. "I know, but…that's not really what I mean." He looked up at Gilbert. Gilbert seemed confused for a minute, and then it seemed to sink in. He looked away, licked his lips, and then looked back at Matthew, a guilty expression on his face.

"Hey, about that, don't…don't take anything seriously I ever said back then." They both knew that Gilbert was referring to that one faithful day at the track meet when Matthew was taking pictures, and Gilbert had decided to harass him for the fun of it, and call him a girl. Of course he hadn't said it out loud, but it hadn't been too discreet either.

Of course, that was before they had really gotten to know each other, and far before they had become a _couple_ of all things.

Matthew nodded absentmindly and looked away. Gilbert seemed to become irritated by this and he placed a hand underneath Matthew's chin and guided him back to look at him.

"Hey, _listen_ to me. Tonight, let's just have some fun, okay? Ludwig should be here soon with the beer, and let's just drink and not worry about anything."

Matthew smiled and took a deep breath. Gilbert was right. He should just have fun. "Okay…" He looked up, only to notice in surprise, a pair of hands had been placed over Gilbert's eyes.

"Guess who?" A familiar voice said quietly, though Matthew couldn't place a name. He saw Gilbert's mouth turn up into a smile.

"Speak of the devil. I'd know that voice anywhere. I know it's you, Feliciano."

Feliciano removed his hands from Gilbert's face and appeared from behind him, a smile on his face. His hair was it's usually ginger brown as it bounced lightly when he moved around energetically. He looked like he had to stand on tiptoe to reach Gilbert's eyes, considering he was even shorter than Matthew.

"Feli!" Gilbert exclaimed in joy, and Matthew watched as he pulled the younger boy into a hug. Feliciano laughed and returned the hug.

"Yes, Gilbert, it's me." He pulled away and looked at Matthew excitedly. "And, Matthew's here, ve~!"

Matthew was surprised that Feliciano even remembered his name, but smiled back as the unusually rambunctious Italian began talking to Gilbert about something so fast that Matthew could hardly keep up with the conversation, even though Gilbert seemed to understand every word he was saying.

"And in the end, they didn't card Ludwig, and we got an extra case of beer!" Feliciano finished off, seeming to bounce on the balls of his feet.

"Nice." Gilbert said, rubbing his hands together, looking excited. "The more beer, the better."

"Not on my watch." Ludwig said, seeming to materialize out of nowhere. Despite his size, he was actually rather stealthy. "Last time you got drunk, you tried to convince me to play Twister with you. Naked."

"Aw, man!" Gilbert exclaimed, "That had to be, what? A week ago! That long? I'm losing my streak!"

Ludwig grinned and handed his older brother a beer. He had a third beer and Matthew stared at it in surprise when he handed it to him.

"I thought I had seen you out here, so I grabbed an extra one just in case. The rest are in the garage."

Matthew took it and thanked Ludwig, suddenly feeling warm in his chest. It felt nice to know such kind people. Even if their act of civility is based completely on giving you beer, but Matthew decided that it was the thought that counted.

"Took you long enough to get here." Gilbert snapped in a very brotherly like way toward Ludwig.

"Well, I'm sure Feliciano told you what happened."

"He did. But that doesn't mean I'm not pissed." And with that he tipped the bottle back and took a sip. "But whatever. The beer's here, so let's get hammered!"

Matthew laughed and couldn't help but blush as Gilbert reached over and lightly pinched his elbow and winked at him before taking another drink. Already he was having fun, and he couldn't help but look forward to spending the night just letting himself go.

But sometimes things don't always go as planned.

* * *

"To, to Ludwig! Tha best brother ever!" Gilbert draped an arm around Ludwig's shoulder and cackled. "If it weren't fer hem, we'd haf no beer!"

When Matthew thought he had seen almost everything, he had never seen someone like Ludwig, to put it appropriately, shit-faced. Of course, Gilbert was just as drunk, but Matthew kind of expected Gilbert would act nearly the same even if he wasn't drunk.

But Ludwig was completely the opposite. His cold disposition that would only be put off by his polite behavior and his rare grins was completely switched after about five beers. He was now laughing at everything his brother said, and once in a while, he'd randomly start singing various songs in German. Randomly.

Not that Matthew was any better himself. He had a feeling that the grin on his face looked absolutely stupid, and everything anybody said sounded so ridiculous. Plus, the fire was starting to do something strange. Like it was jumping around or something. Or maybe he was jumping, and the fire was staying in place. But something was jumping. Yeah.

Elizaveta and Lars had indeed come back less than twenty minutes later. Elizaveta looked completely normal, if not a bit peeved, and Lars looked more stoned than ever. When Gilbert had jokingly asked Elizaveta if she had given him head while they were gone, she had replied that she didn't want him to get lost while he was high, considering about five minutes into smoking his second blunt, he had turned toward Elizaveta and began petting her hair and speaking to it.

When Lars had tried to go and get a beer, Gilbert had stopped him, saying that he reeked so much of weed that he'd make the garage smell like it, and then they would get in trouble by their parents. Lars had half heartedly protested, but in the end, Ludwig convinced him that if he was going to be drunk and high at the same time, he was most likely going to go into cardiac arrest. Which everyone knew that he was probably bullshitting, but no one said anything about it. And so, after emptying nearly a whole twenty pack between them, the only sober people were Elizaveta, Lars (though he was too stoned to even make a difference) and Matthew. Matthew was barely sober, but he was just enough that he felt tipsy, but he was aware of his surroundings. Aside from the jumping fire, he could form almost perfectly non-slurred sentences. But what surprised him the most was that Feliciano, innocent, sweet Feliciano who was nice to everyone at school, and tried his best at everything, who looked like someone that would never do anything bad, was just as drunk as Ludwig and Gilbert. Matthew was sure that Feliciano would be the last person to drink beer, and let alone, get drunk.

"Hey, knock, knock!" Gilbert said loudly, trying not to laugh.

"Who's…who's there?" Ludwig said in between snickers.

"P…Panther!" Gilbert gasped out, trying to hold in his laughter.

"Panther who?" Ludwig snickered.

"Panther no panths, I'm going shwimming!" And that was that. Both brothers were laughing until they couldn't breathe. Matthew was running the punch line through his head again, trying to get it, and Feliciano looked like he was trying to read the ingredients on the beer bottle. Elizaveta was sitting on one of the tree stumps that they had set up around the fire and she was watching the brothers with a fond smile on her face. Matthew had offered to get her a drink earlier and she had declined saying that someone had to keep an eye on all of them. Lars was currently sitting in front of the fire as he lazily scratched the German Shepherd on it's belly. Whatever that dog's name was again. Berly, or Blackitz or something…

Matthew took another sip of his drink and smiled as he watched Gilbert laugh until he was leaning over, clutching his stomach. Even if he was as crazy when he was sober, it was like he became less guarded whenever he drank a few beers. Matthew couldn't help but think that he was so adorable like that.

As he admired Gilbert who was exchanging jokes with Ludwig, he heard the sound of someone walking through the grass toward them. He turned his head to see someone standing just outside their little circle, and Matthew's jaw dropped.

"Hope I'm not too late." Arthur said with a small smile on his face. He was dressed with a green t-shirt that looked as if it were splattered in paint. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, and his jeans were ripped beyond belief. To add a nice touch, he was wearing Converse, which Matthew noticed that one was red and the other was black. He reminded Matthew of some kind of punk rocker, which oddly didn't look bad on him at all. He wondered why he was never dressed like this when he came over to Alfred's house. He usually looked more formal.

"Heeeyyy! It's the British!" Gilbert cried happily and nearly fell over his own feet as he grabbed Arthur into a hug. "Waddaya doin'?"

"Well, I see that I did come a bit late. You're already all drunk." Even though Arthur's tone didn't change, Matthew could tell he was smiling slightly. This definitely wasn't the Arthur he knew. The Arthur he knew was cold and snapped at Alfred. Matthew shook his head, trying to make sure it wasn't some intoxicated hallucination he was experiencing.

"Hey, I'm not drunk, Arthur. You can hang out with me." Elizaveta said and patted a tree stump next to her.

"Gladly." Arthur said and walked over to her.

"Awww, c'mon! Drink with us!" Gilbert whined, leaning his head against Ludwig's shoulder.

"Maybe later." Arthur said dismissively, in a way that Matthew could tell he was used to dealing with a drunk Gilbert.

"You'll be shorry." Gilbert said and turned back to his brother, who interestingly enough had Feliciano draped over his shoulders as the smaller boy tried to hug him.

"Matthew? Is that you?"

Matthew turned toward Arthur and grinned. "Hey, Arthur."

"Good, I thought that was you. For a second there, I thought you were Alfred, and God knows what he would be doing here…"

"Yeah, sometimes people mistake us…" Matthew trailed off hesitantly. It wasn't really that people mistook them, it was more that they mistook him for Alfred. But Arthur didn't seem to mind. Instead, he seemed to smile before he reached into his back pocket and pull out a pack of cigarettes.

"Hey, hey!" Gilbert called out, "Give me one!"

Arthur held a cigarette between his thumb and forefinger with an amused look on his face. "You're drunk."

"So? Gimme dat." And Gilbert snatched the cigarette from Arthur. "Drunk? Ha! I'm fine as fine as fine!"

"Ludwig, you're hair is like, a really nice blonde." Feliciano slurred out sleepily.

"Ja…" Ludwig looked like he was going to say something else, but then shook his head and drank some more beer.

Matthew laughed as he watched Feliciano try to explain why Ludwig's hair was nice.

"Oh God, you got Camels? This brand ish shit! Why do you always get the brands I hate?" Gilbert complained loudly as he took another inhale of the cigarette. Matthew had always been aware that Gilbert was part of the popular crowd that partied and drank and took drugs every now and then, but for some reason, he was surprised that he smoked.

"I don't buy them for you." Arthur said as he took an inhale from his own cigarette.

"Arthur, I know you! You're the type of person that would buy the worst brand of cigarettes just so that I wouldn't want to smoke them!"

"Yes. Obviously." Arthur rolled his eyes, but in a way that Matthew could tell he was just going along with it. Matthew watched Gilbert take an inhale of his cigarette and found himself thinking about what it would taste like to kiss someone that smoked. He always heard that kissing a smoker was awful, but for some reason, he figured it would taste more silky, maybe smooth. After all, Gilbert didn't look half bad smoking a cigarette…

"Birdie, what're you lookin' at?" Gilbert snapped and he waved his hands in the air. Matthew couldn't help but giggle at how ridiculous he looked.

"Gil, if you smoke, you're going to smell bad." The words came out before he could stop them.

"Oh, come on! I don't smoke that much! Only when I hang out with my buddy!" And Gilbert threw an arm around Arthur's shoulder and jovially slapped his shoulder a few times.

"Get off me, you drunk!" Arthur shoved his arm away.

"God, Gilbert. Matthew's right. You'll start smelling bad like Lars over here." Elizaveta said not bothering to conceal that she was talking about him.

Lars snickered, "Hey, at least I'm not trying to become a Math teacher when I grow up."

Gilbert pointed his empty beer bottle at Lars, "You shaddup."

Matthew turned to stare at Gilbert. Now, this was interesting. Gilbert wanted to be a Math teacher?

"I hate to admit it Gilbert, but Lars has a point." Elizaveta said, "You'll probably come into class everyday with a hangover."

"Hey, if it ends up to that, I'll jush make my kids watch a movie while I take shome aspirin in the back." Gilbert laughed, "Aspirin…it has a swear word in it…shwear…"

"Bloody hell." Arthur snorted and Matthew was struck by how odd it was that he had never heard him laugh before until now, even when he would hang out with Alfred.

Matthew felt like someone was watching him, and he looked over in surprise to see that Lars was looking at him, his eyes calculating, despite his half brain dead state, and he looked a bit ticked off, as if he were trying to remember something.

"Hey, Matthew! Did you know a girl called Katyusha? Chick with the huge knockers?" Lars had his hands hover above his chest as if to simulate a pair of large breasts, and Matthew would have fond it hilarious, but instead his eyes widened in surprise, and he suddenly felt just a bit more sober. "Yeah, I knew her." God, he missed her.

Lars clapped his hands together and pointed at him. "That's why your name sounded familiar! You're the sophomore that Katyusha liked!"

Matthew stared at Lars bewildered for a moment. He was uncomfortably aware of the fact that the rest of the people had gotten quiet to listen in on the conversation.

Elizaveta gasped. "Kat? You knew Katyusha?"

"Er, yeah, she and I were in Photojournalism together, but what do you mean she liked me?" His mind was spinning as he tried to grasp what Lars had said. Did he mean like, as in she had a crush on him?

"Hell, how did you not hear about it? It was all over the school whenever someone found she had written you a love note! Apparently she was trying to confess to you before she was going to graduate or whatever!"

Matthew looked at Lars like he was crazy. He had never, not even once, heard about Katyusha liking him. And besides, what was there to like about him? He was just a clumsy, nerdy sophomore that stepped on too many older kids toes. It obviously had to be a rumor that someone had started…

His train of thought stopped when he noticed the incredulous look Gilbert was giving him.

"How did you not know?" He slurred, "She was always hanging out with you, always talking to you. Hell, I don't know anything about this photo stuff, but she was always doing the same events as you!"

Matthew frantically dug into his mind and tried to remember everything Gilbert had just said. And it was true. Ever since the beginning of the year, they had somehow been put into the same events, and she was always volunteering to give him rides to and from various places. And whenever she had to stay after, she would always ask him if he wanted to stay with her.

"Man, she had such a huge crush on you, I wouldn't be surprised if Ivan was about to follow in her footsteps." Lars said snidely.

The atmosphere suddenly turned darker around the whole group of them. Only the sound of the fire crackling and hissing filled the silence.

"Dude, don't even joke about something like that." Gilbert snarled at Lars. They stared at each other for a moment, and Matthew looked uncertainly at the others, but they were all watching as if they were anticipating what was about to happen next.

"Ivan?" Arthur asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke, "Isn't he that tall Russian in my grade?"

"Yeah, he is." Lars grinned, his eyes taking on this kind of wild glint, as if he were getting excited. "Ivan Bragnisky."

"I've seen him once or twice. He and Alfred are apparently best friends or something."

Lars looked at him, "Who the hell is Alfred?"

Arthur flicked the cigarette onto the ground and pulled another out of his pocket. "Alfred Jones? You know, that sophomore? Actually, he's Matthew's twin brother."

Lars looked at Matthew for a moment. "No shit?" He turned back to Arthur, "Yeah, now I remember that kid. Is he really friends with Ivan? I can't imagine that."

Arthur shrugged. "When I'm over at his place, Ivan's sometimes there. They're friends as far as I can tell."

Matthew felt like he couldn't breathe. The mood was incredibly heavy. He watched Gilbert, who looked like he was becoming paler by the minute with rage.

"Alfred and Ivan, best friends?" Lars mused and then he snickered, "That kind of makes me wonder, Gilbert. Are you jealous that he's friends with Ivan, and not you?"

Matthew looked at Gilbert in confusion. Why would he be jealous? Didn't he hate Ivan?

"What's it to you, Lars?" Gilbert asked, sounding as if he wanted to punch Lars.

Arthur seemed to finally realize that Lars was egging Gilbert on, because he inhaled some of his cigarette and glowered at Lars, "Hey, just drop it."

" I'm just wondering!" Lars said, raising his hands into the air as if he were surrendering. "I mean, I remember when you and Ivan were best friends. You two seemed to do everything together."

Matthew's mind was racing. Gilbert and Ivan? Best friends?

"Lars, seriously, just shut up." Elizaveta said warily, but Lars looked as if the adrenaline was running through his veins. He continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"I mean, what happened? It wasn't even two years ago that you suddenly started saying you hated Ivan, Can't say I miss the big guy, but I'm sure you do."

It was then that both Elizaveta and Arthur simultaneously snapped at Lars to shut up, and he looked at them with that same sleepy grin that he had in the first place as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, Gilbert looked like he wanted to grab Lars and rip his throat out. But when Ludwig placed a hand on his shoulder, his expression quickly changed and he looked like he wanted to cry. Throwing the cigarette onto the ground, Gilbert turned and began stumbling up toward the house in the dark.

Without thinking, Matthew followed after Gilbert. He knew that everything that happened tonight he would most likely forget, but as he stumbled after Gilbert in the cold night air, he hoped that he could somehow make things right, even if only for one night.

**Well…I don't know. I'm bored so I'll just post some links here.**

**Don't know what a Faux Hawk is? Just type it in to google.**

**Actually, apparently (?) Lars looks like this (Yes you do have to remove the spaces in between the links. You poor babies, life is so hard.): fc08 . deviantart . net / fs50 / f / 2009 / 340 / 9 / 9 / FIFA _ 2010 _ BY _ HIMARUYA _ HIDEKAZU _ by _ gazxiii . jpg**

**He's the guy with the orange shirt, next to Japan.**

**Annnd, Arthur's clothing was modeled after his CD cover and Kesha's pants. No, I'm not kidding.**

**Jacket and shirt: downloadost . com / ost / big – hetalia – axis – power – character – cd – 04 – uk – ost . jpg**

**Jeans: (Looking something like this, but much manrier) **

**i236 . photobucket . com / albums / ff249 / All _ My _ Cookies / JEANS . jpg**

**Is this retarded? Yes. But leave me alone, because I'm proud that I just got this whole thing done and submitted.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Oh my god guys. I am so so so sooooo sorry.**

**I had knee surgery. No butt f-ing lie. Knee surgery.**

**I fricking have to wear this brace now that goes from my ankle to my thigh for like, six weeks. I WALK LIKE A CRIPPLE.**

**It's done things, like delay my posting of this story. Which pisses me off very much.**

**So I hope this chapter isn't **_**too**_** weird, and hopefully I'll be able to get more chapters out soon. **

**Enjoy!**

"_It's just weird…when you've had your friends with you all your life, you almost take it for granted."_

_Matthew looked up at Gilbert. His voice was getting quieter, and he had to strain to hear him._

"_And then when they've all gone, you don't realize how…when you…"_

_He felt shock stir in his stomach and his heart thump against his chest. Tears shone in Gilbert's eyes, and just then, he looked so vulnerable, Matthew felt himself go weak._

"_It's fucking insane how lonely you can get." Gilbert's voice cracked at the final word and he buried his head in his hands. "Jesus…"_

_Matthew, unsure of what he was exactly doing, reached forward and wrapped his hand around Gilbert's, gently pulling it away from his face. Gilbert removed his other hand and looked at him, his eyes dull and sorrowful._

"_It is a bit funny though…"_

_Matthew weaved his fingers through Gilbert's, his eyes never leaving his face._

"_Maybe this was all supposed to happen so that I could meet you."_

_Gilbert was just inches from his face now, and he placed a hand on the back of Matthew's neck, pulling him closer._

"_I wonder." _

_Matthew only sighed just seconds before they kissed, their hands were already traveling underneath each other's clothing, trying to search for more._

Matthew's eyelids fluttered open and he stared at the ceiling of a room that he had never seen before. Only the sunlight spilling in through the windows lit the room. The windows were open and a cold breeze flowed in, making the long curtains billow. Sitting up slowly, he clutched his forehead, groaning as it throbbed rhythmically. He was lying on a large bed with only a small blanket that someone must have thrown over him. His shirt was incredibly wrinkled, and on the floor he saw Gilbert's grey fleece jacket, which he must have thrown off the night before.

Across the bed sat a dresser, and three doors. The dresser was adorn with framed pictures, too far away for him to make out without his glasses, and on instinct he reached across the bed to the nightstand, and was shocked to find that they actually were lying there, on top of a book that had been dog eared too many times to count.

Putting on his glasses, he turned on the light by the bedside table and slowly got out of bed, stumbling over to the dresser. There were many pictures of a blonde haired kid with wide blue eyes, and others of a white haired kid, staring up into the camera with those familiar blood red eyes.

_This must be Gilbert and Ludwig's parents' bedroom_, he thought to himself and blushed embarrassed. How he ended up sleeping in there was beyond him, and he figured the best thing he could do now was just leave before anyone saw him and asked what he was doing.

Shuffling over to the closest door, he opened it to only see it was a walk in closet, piled high with racks of clothing. He closed the door, opened the second one only to find that it was a master bathroom, looking as if it had never once been touched. Sighing, Matthew walked across the room to the third door, and figuring third time being the charm, opening it to see that it indeed led out to the hallway.

He walked out slowly, trying to find the staircase. He had only ever been up on the second floor in Gilbert's house once before, and even then, he couldn't really remember where he had been.

Rounding a corner, he found the staircase, and as he walked down it slowly, his head throbbing with every step. He could hear the quiet sound of someone strumming a guitar and singing.

He carefully maneuvered his way cautiously into the kitchen, careful not to make too much noise. Peeking in through the doorway, he saw Elizaveta sitting on a barstool with her legs up against the counter while Gilbert stood by, holding a glass of water and looking as if he had hardly gotten any sleep at all. Elizaveta wasn't really singing, more like humming as she stopped every now and then to tune her guitar and start playing a few more chords.

Uncomfortable, Matthew was unsure of how he was going to greet himself, when the floorboards underneath his feet creaked and Gilbert looked over at him almost instantly.

"Well hey," Gilbert grinned, "Look who finally woke up."

"Took you long enough." Elizaveta commented, putting down her guitar. She was wearing only a blue windbreaker and running shorts, her hair was now loose brown curls that hung down her back in a loose ponytail. "We were beginning to think you were dead."

Matthew smiled nervously, his eyes never quite leaving Gilbert's face. The last thing he could really remember from last night was stumbling after Gilbert in the cold, dread and surprise feeling up every part of his body, making him weary and tired. He was really wondering what had all happened last night, but felt like now wasn't the right time to ask. It felt too…personal.

"Good morning…" He said quietly after a moments pause.

"Morning? More like afternoon. It's almost one, you know that right?" Gilbert walked over to the fridge. "Do you want anything to drink? We have some seltzer water."

Matthew grimaced and shook his head. "No thanks. Um…where is everyone?"

"They all went home. I don't think they'd want to stay a second night after everything that went down yesterday." Elizaveta explained just as Gilbert elbowed her and glared at her warningly, to which she only shrugged staring up at him with big, innocent eyes.

Matthew shifted uncomfortably. So everyone had already gone home? It felt weird, like an out of body experience, like last night had never happened.

Elizaveta reached across the counter and plucked an apple from a fruit basket. "If you had woken up sooner, you could have helped us clean up. This whole place was a mess." She said gleefully. "I want to know who got the pizza. There were pizza boxes everywhere."

"Probably Lars." Gilbert said, "Smoking all that weed probably gives him the munchies."

Elizaveta giggled, "Or maybe it was you and—"

"Hey, you shut up." Gilbert snapped and began trying to cover her mouth with his hand. Elizaveta shrieked and started dodging away, trying to fend him off with the half eaten apple.

Matthew watched the scene before him, feeling left out. He had a headache, and not only that, but he knew that something—though he wasn't sure what—had happened last night, something important between him and Gilbert that the other two were hiding from him.

But of course, he couldn't think of such things when he was with them, considering Elizaveta seemed to be able to detect a mood change a mile away.

"Your boyfriend looks sad." Elizaveta said, pointing at Matthew.

"Who, me?" Matthew asked, looking up in surprise.

"Who, him? He's always like that." Gilbert smirked, obviously teasing Matthew. Matthew only sneered at Gilbert as if to say, 'Yeah, real funny.'

"Come on, Matthew! Cheer up!" Elizaveta exclaimed, placing the half eaten apple down on the counter. She raised her hands above her head and began clapping them together as she sang, "_He's got the whole world, in his hands~!_"

Gilbert was watching Elizaveta with a perplexed expression on his face before saying, "Jesus, what did they do to you at that school?"

Matthew tried to not be amused by how childish the two were acting. He was quite entertained by Elizaveta singing, for she had a wonderful voice. He no longer felt so left out anymore.

"Hey, Gilbert!" she said, suddenly cutting herself off from singing, "Let's tell Matthew that joke about two dimes and a nickel!"

"Goddamn, no! You tell him that joke and I'll kill you." Gilbert said warningly.

"What joke?" Matthew asked, curious.

"No. Don't ask. You don't want to know the joke. You really don't. You'll regret it forever."

Matthew looked at Gilbert. He thought that maybe he was joking, but when he saw how serious Gilbert looked, his smiled faltered. What could possibly be so bad about a joke?

"Well, whatever." Elizaveta looked toward Matthew, "Anyway, won't you need a ride home or something? It's almost one. Although I don't think you'll get in trouble since you're rich, and rich people don't get in trouble or something like that…"

Matthew laughed, "Oh, yeah, I probably should get a ride home. Alfred will be mad…" He said the last part quietly, his cheeks turning red.

"Alfred?" Elizaveta asked.

"His brother." Gilbert put in.

Elizaveta perked up at this. "Brother? You have a brother? Older or younger?"

"Um, we're twins…"

Elizaveta glanced at Gilbert and then looked at Matthew interested. "You should introduce me some time."

Matthew looked at her confused for a moment. Didn't Gilbert say she was a…?

"I'll get the car keys." Gilbert said suddenly as if wanting to change the subject. He pushed off of the counter since he was leaning against it and winced, limping a few steps before trying to put his weight on his right knee. Matthew heard Elizaveta sighed in an exasperated manner.

"Gilbert, does your knee seriously still hurt? You didn't hyperextend it."

"Yeah, whatever." Gilbert said as he exited the kitchen.

"You're not fooling anyone!" She called after him and she rolled her eyes running her fingers through her ponytail. "Honestly, he's like a little kid…"

Matthew looked at Elizaveta in curiosity, but also felt a bit worried. "Do you mean he did something worse than hyperextend it?"

Elizaveta stopped running her fingers through her ponytail and turned to look at him. After a few seconds of silence, she asked. "Do you remember anything that happened last night?"

The question threw Matthew a bit off guard. "Um, no I don't really…"

Elizaveta smiled at him, but it seemed a bit strained. "Oh honey, nothing at all?" She sounded concerned, like she was worrying over her own child.

"Well, I do remember the bonfire, and…and stuff…" Matthew was stuttering as he struggled to maintain his composure. The way Elizaveta was watching him was making him nervous. Surely she had remembered something he hadn't. She had been sober all the times he could remember.

"Hmm…" Elizaveta said thoughtfully, "Do you run?"

"No, I don't…"

"You look like you do."

"I play hockey."

"Ah, that would explain it! But seriously, I think you should come running with me sometime. I could always use a running buddy while I'm still here."

The way she looked at Matthew with her eyes gleaming, he knew that she was letting on to more than she was admitting. He shrugged slightly.

"Um, sure, I guess…" He mumbled, blushing.

Elizaveta beamed. "Good." She reached forward and pinched Matthew's cheeks, "And why don't you turn that frown upside down?"

Gilbert walked in just then, looking at them in disgust. "Eliza, stop molesting him." He turned to Matthew, shaking the keys in his hands. "You ready to go?"

"Y-yeah." Matthew said quickly and rubbed his now tender cheeks. He said a quick goodbye to Elizaveta and walked out the door, Gilbert following behind him. Matthew noticed how he was trying to walk normally, but it was evident that his one leg was lame.

"What was that all about?" Gilbert asked in amusement, leaning in to murmur in his ear. Feeling Gilbert's breath on his neck sent shivers down his spine.

"I don't know…" Matthew said, and he was being honest. He had no clue what had just happened.

* * *

After Matthew had said goodbye to Gilbert, he had trudged up the stairs to his house, for once feeling only a bit numb at the prospect that Alfred might be a little more than pissed off that he was getting home so late. He felt his heart clench slightly. Usually people would be afraid of returning home to angry parents, not their siblings.

He walked through the front door, at least a little relieved that Alfred had left it unlocked. Usually when they fought, Alfred liked to be an asshole and do some, yet incredibly irritating things. Like locking the front door when Matthew didn't have a key.

Or maybe Alfred just forgot to lock the door this time.

Matthew walked into the kitchen still mulling over the events that had occurred last night. He seriously could hardly remember _anything_ and it made him feel angry at the dull ache in the back of his head. Why had he decided to even drink anything in the first place? Then again, he had expected last night to be normal, and nothing out of the ordinary.

Matthew walked into the kitchen and looked at the counter, seeing cups upon red plastic cups piled everywhere. Alfred had also held a party last night, he had forgotten about that.

Grabbing a few Motrin, he reached into the fridge and poured a glass of orange juice. He tilted his head back to take a sip so that the pills would go down easier—

And nearly spit it all out as he noticed a large hole in the wall nearly the size of his head.

It looked recent—well, it _had_ to have been recent, considering the last time Matthew had been in the kitchen, there was no hole in the wall.

He heard someone walk into the kitchen, and turned to see Alfred. Alfred barely batted an eye in direction, but Matthew temporarily forgot about the fact that they were supposed to be angry at each other, and pointed to the wall.

"What happened there?" Matthew asked in disbelief. Alfred walked pass him, reaching into the fridge for some milk, which he simply drank from the carton before putting it back. Finally he spoke.

"Ivan was helping me to set up for the party (That _you _were supposed to help me with, he didn't need to mention it, for Matthew knew he was implying it) and when he asked me where you were, I said you were at Gilbert's. Then he punched a hole in the wall..." Alfred trailed off at the last sentence with a kind of light air as if he were saying, _See? I'm not the only one._

Though for most people, their friend punching a hole in the wall wasn't always a good way to prove their point, but they had money. Alfred knew he could make a mess of things, and just a swipe of one of their parent's limitless credit cards, and they could fix it all.

And yet, at the same time, it held a kind of light. Because he remembered what Lars had said last night, causing Gilbert to look at if his world had been torn apart.

Ivan and Gilbert had been _best friends_ once.

"Don't lock the door." Alfred called in a kind of nonchalance as he exited the kitchen, "Someone's coming to fix the hole before mom and dad get home."

Huh, so Alfred hadn't forgot to lock the door.

Oh. Well.


	30. Chapter 30

**:D**

…

**-hides under her desk-**

**E-enjoy this chapter…**

"Hey, Alfred …" Matthew took a deep breath. This was going to be hard. "I understand that we have our differences, and that we haven't been getting along so well in the past few days, but please, hear me out…"

Matthew drew up to his fullest height. "Let me use the bathroom so I can take a shower for work!"

His own reflection winced back at him when his voice came out sounding not quite as deep as he hoped. Across the hall in the bathroom, he could hear Alfred casually plodding around in the bathroom as he turned on the shower.

Matthew leaned back and resisted the urge to stomp his foot or kick something. He had work in half an hour, and he smelled like sweat, and oddly enough, nail polish remover. And Alfred wasn't even working today!

Matthew turned back to the mirror. Never the best at confrontations, he figured that maybe he should practice a few lines before he went out and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Hey, bro. I know you're mad at me, and hey, I guess I _totally_ deserve it, but I have work today, and see, you're _kind of_ being an ass by taking the bathroom…screw this." Matthew grumbled crossing his arms over his chest. God, this was just pathetic. Weighing his options in his mind, he figured he could use the bathroom downstairs. They had four bathrooms, but only two had showers. And the one had Alfred in it. The other bathroom that had a shower was downstairs and…

Matthew groaned and reached over for his towel and work uniform. He didn't want to go all the way downstairs and trek into his parent's bedroom. His parents had a thing about him and his brother going into their room unless they had permission and Matthew wouldn't be surprised if they had video cameras set up. (though he was pretty sure they would be more for Alfred than him). Matthew wondered just how he was going to explain this one if he were to be caught in the act. He played out the scenario in his mind.

_Why was I in your bedroom? Well, you see, Alfred and I are kind of fighting right now, and he won't let me use the upstairs bathroom. Oh, why are we fighting? Well, it's because I'm friends with this one guy he doesn't like very much. In fact, not too many people seem to like him. His name is Gilbert Beilschmidt, and you might have heard of him. Yeah, he's that guy that is Francis' friend that used to come over sometimes. Well, he used to be Ivan's best friend, but apparently they aren't anymore, so for some reason, that's why there's a hole in the kitchen wall_. _Oh, and by the way, him and I are _kind of_ more than friends._

Matthew opened the door to the master bathroom and threw his clothing onto the floor. He took off his pajamas, wrinkling at the smell. When was the last time he had washed them? He stepped into the shower, appreciating the steady flow of hot water.

Once he got out of the shower, Matthew put on his uniform, grabbed his jacket, the car keys, and hurried out the door.

He made it to work with hardly a minute to spare. He was lucky Tino wasn't paying attention when he slipped through the door, and hastily threw an apron on over his head and tied it around his waist. He said good morning to Toris and was introduced to Kiku Honda, a Japanese boy probably two or three years older than him that just been hired yesterday, when Matthew hadn't been working. He felt relief that there was a third pair of hands to help around the place. He was quiet, but when he spoke, it was with reason, and he was extremely modest.

They worked through the day, both Matthew and Toris watching in amazement at Kiku's accurate and speedy dismissal of the orders he was given. With the efficiency the kid had, it made Matthew wonder why Tino didn't just fire him and Toris on the spot and keep Kiku.

Time flew by, and all three's work shift ended before they knew it. Aside from Matthew spilling some coffee on the floor, the day passed without incident. Toris was mopping the floors, Kiku was cleaning the dishes, and Matthew was wiping down the counters, when the phone rang. All three jumped the loud noise jarring them out of their quiet comfort after a long day of the constant buzz of voices. Matthew was the closest to the phone, and picked it up.

"Hello, Café Amadeus." He said into the phone, resting it on his shoulder.

"_This better be who I think it is. And if it isn't, tell shortie that he needs to get a cell phone." _ A familiar voice spoke on the other end.

Matthew felt himself smile. "You're not supposed to be calling me at work, you idiot." He glanced up and noticed Toris and Kiku look at each other, causing him to flush. Self-consciously, he turned away from them, acting as if he were talking to a friend. "So, why are you calling, anyway? We closed fifteen minutes ago."

Gilbert warily asked, _"So that means I can't order a frappucino?" _

Matthew pretended to sound sympathetic. "No, I'm sorry."

He heard Gilbert gasp on the other end, "_My GOD, you monster!"_

Matthew laughed, feeling his skin tingle just by listening to the sound of Gilbert's voice. "But seriously, why are you calling? If I stay on for too long, or I'll get in trouble."

Gilbert made a noise. _"Right, you can't stay on long. You have to make sure to inform all that are going to call that you aren't selling anymore frappucinos."_

"Exactly." Matthew agreed. He paused a moment before he asked, "Are you okay? Your voice sounds a bit weird." He noticed that Gilbert's voice sounded like the mouthpiece of the phone was being covered.

"_It's the fucking climate change. I have a case of the coughfuls."_

Matthew laughed, "What are coughfuls?"

"_Awful coughs. Elizaveta made the word up, not me." _He explained this like it wasn't weird that he had such a varied vocabulary of made up words. Like hoekiny. And fretball (which Matthew was pretty sure was 'football').

"It's not contagious?" Matthew asked, not even cleaning the counter anymore. Instead, he batted the washcloth around like he were a cat.

"_Nothing I have is ever contagious." _Gilbert stated, then coughed twice.

"Right." Matthew rolled his eyes

"_Hey, I'm telling the truth." _There was the soft sound of static as Gilbert breathed out through his mouth on the other end before continuing. _"But yeah, you know about Toney's on 682?"_

Matthew's eyebrows furrowed. Was it a store? "No…"

He heard Gilbert gasp on the other end, _"You are fucking _kidding_ me! You've never heard of it?"_

Matthew rolled his eyes. "No, no I haven't."

"_Dude, it's the best restaurant. EVER. Their food is so fucking good. Especially their pizza. It is SO GOOD. You would not believe how good their fucking pizza is." _Gilbert sounded like he was praising a higher being.

"Huh." Matthew said sarcastically, "I get the feeling that their pizza is good."

"_Better than good, the best. And you've never been there? You Canadians are missing out. Eatin' flapjacks and polar bear meat all day, eh?" _Gilbert mused sadly.

"That's right…eh." Matthew added as an afterthought, then feeling like an idiot whenever he remembered that Toris and Kiku were standing right there, hearing every word he said. "So, why are you telling me about this restaurant?"

"_I'm telling you because…"_ Gilbert paused dramatically, _"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come get something to eat there tonight? And then maybe after, you could sleep over and we could watch a movie or something?"_

Matthew's heartbeat sped up, and he subconsciously gripped the phone tighter and forced his voice to remain calm. "Tonight?" He said dumbly, "I mean, well, I guess, I mean, I don't have any plans going on…" Matthew blushed as he yammered on and twisted the phone cord around his finger. "Um…yeah. I'd love to…"

He heard Gilbert chuckle quietly on the other end. _"Okay, awesome. But I'm warning you now, Elizaveta's going to be coming with us."_

Matthew's face fell a little at the mention of someone else coming, but he brushed it off. Elizaveta was nice, and she seemed like a lot of fun. "That's fine."

"_Great." _ Gilbert sounded excited._ "So call it a date, if we pretend that Eliza doesn't exist?"_

Feeling a bit stupid even when he did it, Matthew smiled at the word 'date'. "Yeah…"

"_Good. Come to my house around six or something, okay? And bring a jacket, because it's cold as fuck." _ He heard Gilbert mutter something about it being 'fucking July' and that the weather was 'too damn cold'.

Matthew scoffed. "You're so modest."

"_I am. And I'm sexy." _Gilbert actually sounded proud at saying this. _"I'll talk to you later, Alright?"_

"Yeah, see you later…" Matthew said, feeling as if the conversation had ended too soon. He hung up the phone and looked up to be face to face with Toris who was looking at him curiously.

"Who was that?" Toris asked.

"Oh, just someone asking if we were still open, you know, the usual…" Matthew laughed nervously, then mumbled a quiet 'never mind' when he saw both raise their eyebrows in question.

"No, go on." Toris said, stepping closer to the counter. "Was it someone you knew? Like…your girlfriend?" Toris' mouth curled up into a grin.

Matthew froze and stared up at Toris. "W-what? No!" He said a little too quickly. Great, first the hockey team, now this!

"Right." Toris exchanged little eye messages with Kiku that made absolutely no sense to Matthew. Since when had they been so close? Didn't they, what, meet just yesterday?

"I don't have a girlfriend." Matthew grumbled. He didn't have a girlfriend, _however _he was in a relationship with someone, but it just wasn't someone of the opposite sex. He decided that this wasn't the best time to suddenly bring that up. He continued wiping down the counters hoping that the other two took this as a note of finality and didn't question him about his relationships anymore. They both turned back to doing their jobs, but Matthew could have sworn he heard the smallest of whispers, "Matthew has a girlfrieeennnd~" in a sing-song voice, and Kiku's quiet laughter.

He knew his whole face was probably stark red, but he tried to act like he couldn't hear their teasing. When he was finally done, he removed his apron, placed it in the back room and said goodbye to Kiku and Toris and hurried out the back door before he could hear anything else they had to say. He breathed a sigh of relief and pursed his lips as he stared up at the sky, watching the clouds move lazily, keeping the sun from shining down. If the whole hockey team was so convinced he had a girlfriend, and now the people he worked with were too, how was he going to possibly keep it that way? Not that he had a problem with his own sexuality—or not yet anyway. He was still waiting for that initial shock he was expecting to get—but it was more like he wasn't so sure how everyone else would react if they found out.

He shook his head and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. This cold front was getting ridiculous. With July just around the corner, he wondered if he was ever going to see a sunny day again.

* * *

Matthew only returned home briefly to grab some clothing since he was going to spend the night at Gilbert's house, and change out of his uniform into a pair of jeans and a worn grey long sleeved shirt. He walked down the steps and almost went out the door whenever he saw Alfred lying on the couch…reading? Well, that was a first. Matthew decided to give this one time a shot, and spoke before he could think against it.

"Hey, Alfred? I'm going over to a friend's house, and I might be sleeping over, so I might not be back until sometime tomorrow, and I'm taking the car…" He trailed off, judging his brother's reaction.

Alfred didn't even acknowledge him, and continued to read, flipping a page. Matthew frowned at him and walked out of the room. Well, maybe if they kept this up, no one would blame him if he "accidently" bleached his brother's clothing.

Walking out the door through the kitchen, he only glanced at the wall before getting into the car. It was then that it occurred to him that the hole in the wall had been repaired and if Matthew hadn't known any better, he would have thought there had never been one in the first place.

Brushing off his brother's attitude, and deciding to look forward to the evening, Matthew felt like an idiot, feeling excited at what Gilbert had said. _He said it was like a date! Even though someone else is coming, he said it was a date! _He was beginning to wonder if maybe he was right in the head lately. Their relationship had steadily progressed onward, and Matthew was surprised at how much time had already passed. He also thought about how much his life had changed in that short amount of time. Already, he had seen a good part of someone's life that he had never expected to, was currently not speaking with his brother, and already his once nonexistent life was now teeming with the possibilities of good and bad things happening all at once.

But, Matthew realized grimly, the bad things outweighed the good. Like Ivan and Gilbert hating each other. Not that it had bothered him as much before, it was whenever he had found out they had once been best friends. Even when he was at hockey practice after the bonfire, he had noticed Ivan wasn't really talking to him. Whenever he said goodbye to Ivan outside the locker room, Ivan only glanced at him, mouth set in a straight line, and nodded his head upward, once, and then, his towering frame moved pass Matthew, through the door, and he walked to the parking lot toward a parked car.

It was a big car, like Ivan, and Matthew felt weird thinking this, but it was the first thought that had entered his mind was, _Ivan didn't tell me he had gotten his driver license._ Not that he and Ivan were mega close, but they talk all the time during hockey practice, so he was sure to have somehow found out about it eventually…right?

So what had changed now? He tried to ignore the small voice inside of him that quietly said, _It's because he knows that you're friends with Gilbert. _He didn't want to believe that the night at the party had changed the way Ivan even looked at him. Even the day the hockey team had bothered him about his 'girlfriend' he had noticed Ivan's speech had been more forced, like he didn't want to talk to Matthew.

Matthew made a very distracted left turn, and nearly ran into the path of a car going straight. The car's horn blared at him, ripping him from his thoughts. His heart pounding, he continued driving, determined to focus on the road ahead of him, but the thoughts still seeped into his mind, tickling his brain.

He pulled into the driveway of Gilbert's house, noticing the only other car was Elizaveta's Escalade. He wondered where everyone was, considering they had four cars, and despite the fact that Gilbert had said that his car was still in the shop, that was still three cars unaccounted for.

He walked up the steps to the front porch and knocked on the door three times. He heard the familiar barking of three dogs, and then a female voice chiding them.

"Okay, be quiet! Gilbert's right, you mutts are good for nothing. Aster, _move!_" The door opened and Elizaveta stood in the doorway, the corner of a bag of chips gripped in her teeth. Her eyes widened in surprise and she removed the bag from her mouth. "Hey, it's Matthew!" She exclaimed, leaping at him and pulling him into a tight hug.

"Uh…hi…" Matthew gasped, having a hard time breathing. Was she here alone? She finally pulled away, allowing him to breathe normally and beckoned for him to come in. "Are you here to see Gilbert?"

"Yeah." Matthew gasped and he leaned over to take his shoes off, and pat Aster on the head. "Is he upstairs?"

Elizaveta fell onto the couch back first and sprawled across it luxuriously before she answered him. "No, his dad just called and he had to drive over to the mechanic shop really fast. He said he'd be right back, and left me in charge of the house. This was a bad idea for him!" She sang the last sentence, and shook the bag of chips simultaneously. "Why don't you sit down?" She asked him, pointing toward the rocking chair.

Matthew walked over and sat down on the chair next to the couch. Elizaveta's guitar was resting next to the chair and he accidently knocked it over.

"Oh no, I'm sorry..." He hastily picked it up, hoping that he hadn't somehow broken it, but knowing his luck...

Elizaveta shook her head, and stuffed a chip into her mouth. "Don't worry about it, seriously. My baby's been through much worse." She reached over and plucked the guitar from Matthew's hands and began to play a few notes automatically as if out of habit.

"Is no one else here?" Matthew asked as he looked around the uncharacteristically quiet house.

"Well, Ludwig is, but he's outside 'doing-stuff-only-guys-do-with-other-guy-friends.'" She formed quotation marks with her fingers. She paused for a moment. "That sounds dirty, doesn't it? I meant that he's lifting weights with his friends in the garage."

Matthew laughed, but still couldn't hide his surprise when he asked. "Do Gilbert's parents just let you stay here whenever you want?" He stopped, realizing that it might have sounded rude what he had asked. "I-I mean-"

Elizaveta shook her head, waving off what he was going to say with the flick of her wrist. "Oh yeah, his parents do. Gilbert and I have known each other since we were little, and his parents treat me like I'm their daughter or something. They would always call me and tell me to pick up their spare car keys, or bring their lunches to work when they've forgotten. They even gave me a spare key to the house." And in a moment of overdramatized tension, she whipped out a key chain and held it up like she was holding a sword up to the sunlight. She pulled the chain back and ticked through the keys, naming what each one was for. "This key's for my dad's house, my mom's house, the Escalade, my dorm room at my school, and a-ha! The Beilschmidt house key!" She held it in Matthew's face.

"Huh…" Matthew murmured, staring at it.

Elizaveta pulled the keys away and put them back in the pocket of her jeans. "It's kind of depressing that they'd rather depend on me than their own sons, but then again, Gilbert is their oldest…" Elizaveta trailed off, and both knew that this went without explanation. She abandoned strumming her guitar for a moment and piled her hair onto the top of her head in a messy bun, strands hanging out, and her bangs swept across her face. She leaned back and fixed her gaze on Matthew for a moment before speaking. "How old are you, Matthew?"

"I'm sixteen." He answered.

"Sixteen?" Elizaveta exclaimed in surprise. "Gilbert told me you were seventeen!"

"Oh, well…" Matthew gave a small smile, "I _am_ actually going to be seventeen in a few days…" He stopped in surprise. He _was_ going to be seventeen soon. In like, three days.

Elizaveta stared at him, mouth agape. There was a moment of silence, and Matthew had the sudden fear that she was going into shock. "Um…are you okay?" he asked uncertainly.

"Your birthday is coming up and you don't even bother telling us?" She asked slowly, like he didn't understand English.

"Uh, well, I mean, it's not something that usually comes up in a conversation…" Matthew said sinking into the chair uncomfortably.

"How soon?" She asked.

"July first…" He answered sinking even lower.

Elizaveta stopped and gave him a thoughtful look. She placed her chin in her hands and shook her head disapprovingly. "That _is_ soon. Gilbert is _not_ going to be too happy about this."

Matthew wasn't too sure why Gilbert would be unhappy about hearing his birthday was coming up, and guessed Elizaveta was only joking around.

"Well, we can worry about that later." Elizaveta said dismissively, plucking a chip out of the bag and eating it. "But now I have to wonder what I'm going to get you for your birthday. Or more importantly what Gilbert's going to get you!"

Matthew felt his cheeks burning. "You don't have to get me anything…"

"Oh no, don't say that! This is going to be your day! Of course you deserve gifts!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air to show the enormity of the situation.

Matthew laughed nervously. "Well, I guess, but don't spend too much on me…"

"Oh, nonsense." Elizaveta pursed her lips, her arms still in the air. "You know what? I think I know what Gilbert could get you." She continued excitedly, "That kitten that lives in the alley behind the café! But that wouldn't work because your parents won't let you own the cat." She gave him a sympathetic look.

"Yeah…" Matthew looked down at his lap, then stopped, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Something was off about the conversation. "How did you know about the cat…?"

Elizaveta lowered her arms and looked at him uncertainly. "Because you told me and Gilbert, remember?"

Matthew didn't remember, and looked at her, lost. He remembered telling Gilbert that his parents didn't allow him to own pets, but the thing about the cat in the alley…no, he had never told Gilbert once. At least, he was pretty sure he hadn't.

Elizaveta took in Matthew's lost look and she gasped. "Oh yeah, that's _right._ You said you didn't remember anything that happened…"

Matthew didn't remember what? He was starting to get a little weirded out. Had he gotten amnesia in the past few days?

Elizaveta continued without being prompted. "At the bonfire…that was about two days ago now, wasn't it? You and Gilbert came up to the house. He was really mad, and you were trying to calm him down. Do you remember that?"

Matthew nodded. "I remember following him up to the house, and then waking up in his parent's bedroom."

Elizaveta giggled. "You _did_ say that you had too much to drink. You sounded ashamed of yourself."

"Well, wait…" Matthew asked, "What happened?"

Elizaveta strummed her guitar, and looked up toward the ceiling. "Well, first off, I think you both kind of forgot why Gilbert was even mad in the first place, because when I came into the house a few minutes later, you two wanted me to join your debate about whether or not global warming existed. We talked for a while, and then we came to a very drunken conclusion on your parts that it was a government conspiracy planned by Lee Harvey Oswald. Then you saw Aster, said that you'd always wanted a dog, and started crying—"

"Wait…" Matthew held up his hands to stop her. "What? I started crying? What?" His voice cracked.

Elizaveta nodded slowly, and Matthew felt his face redden. Oh god, could it get any worse? He cried? He freakin' _cried_? He placed his head in his hands.

"Well, more like your eyes just watered up a little. You sniffled a bit too, but not too much on the waterworks." Elizaveta nodded to herself.

Matthew sighed. Even if he hadn't sobbed like a baby, his inner masculinity was still wounded. "What else happened?" He asked, his voice muffled.

"Well, Gilbert comforted you when you started telling us about the kitten in the alley way, and I was going to leave because you two were starting to get really cuddly, and I mean reallllyyy cuddly. But then Gilbert asked me to stay." Elizaveta shrugged like she was expecting Matthew to get mad at her.

"Why?" Matthew asked, lifting his head from his hands. What did she mean by 'cuddly'?

Elizaveta gave him a strange smile. "I think maybe you should ask him that yourself."

"Oh…kay…" Matthew was confused, but didn't pry anymore. He was thinking about something. It was faint, like something you smell in the wind, but you don't take a big enough whiff, so you're unsure of what it is exactly. Then his eyes widened, and he gasped.

"_Maybe this was all supposed to happen so that I could meet you."_

So that wasn't a dream his alcohol induced mind had conjured? He felt his face becoming warm. No wonder it had been so vivid, and god…Gilbert could really kiss in the moment…

"Hey, Matthew?" Elizaveta gave him a weird look. "You're not tripping out on acid or something, are you?"

"What? N-no!" Matthew said a bit too quickly and coughed. "Actually…" He looked at Elizaveta and thought through his reasons. She and Gilbert were really good friends, so she _must_ know a little bit about all of the drama surrounding his life. So he decided to give it a shot, desperate to change the subject.

"Um…do you remember at the bonfire when Gilbert and Lars were talking?" He asked, the felt stupid. Of course she remembered. She was the only sober one there. When she nodded, he continued. "Well, when Lars said that Ivan and Gilbert used to be best friends… is that true?"

Elizaveta reached up and pulled her hair out of the bun, nodding her head as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Yup, it's true. They were really _really_ close."

Matthew blinked, thinking back at Vash's party when they had almost gotten into a fight. He had no idea. "But I thought he had always been best friends with Antonio and Francis?"

"Oh sure, he _is_ best friends with them. But whenever the three of them couldn't hang out together, he was always chilling with Ivan. Especially junior year." She nodded to herself. "I wasn't around that much, but I'll let you in on one thing Matthew, eleventh grade is going to be the hardest, most time consuming grade. You think you know what being busy means? You just wait." She nodded her head and Matthew gave her a worried look. It wasn't truly that hard, was it? He had heard stories, but surely…

"But, yeah!" Elizaveta continued, throwing her arms behind her head. "Ivan used to be friends with Gilbert, and then there was drama, drama, drama. But you should ask Gilbert about it. He remembers it better than I do."

Matthew sighed. "That's the thing. I _did_ ask him about it…" That was kind of a lie. He had asked him about Ivan once, but they were both drunk and that was pretty sure Gilbert hadn't given him an answer anyway. "But he won't tell me anything, and he keeps changing the subject."

"Well, that's _easy_." Elizaveta flicked her wrist again, like she was swatting a fly. "He obviously doesn't want to you know what happened to him before he met you, because he afraid of what you'd think of him."

Matthew raised his eyebrows. "What I would think about him?" He repeated.

She nodded. "Yeah, see, he used to be a huge asshole, and he was always convinced the galaxy revolved around him." She pulled out another chip and ate it.

"Um…" Matthew began uneasily. "But he still is like that…"

Elizaveta shook her head, fixing him with her piercing green eyes. "Nu-uh. Not as much. Sure, he may _act _it, but he's changed a lot. He really cares about you."

Matthew blushed. "He doesn't care about me that much…"

Elizaveta shook her head. "He really does. It's so obvious that you mean a lot to him. I mean, why else had he asked you to go and throw paint all over the school walls?"

Matthew didn't look convinced. "It was because Antonio and Francis weren't here. He said that he needed help."

Elizaveta shook her head. "Matthew, trust me, I've known Gilbert for a long time, and if he had really to, he would have done it all by himself."

Matthew was silent, chewing the information over in his mind. His heart swelled and he looked at Elizaveta. "I guess you're right…" he admitted, a small smile on his face.

Elizaveta sighed. "Of _course_ I'm right. And you look so cute when you smile."

Matthew placed a hand on the back of his neck. "Oh, well…" He stopped when he heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.

Elizaveta stood up, stretching her arms over her head. "Looks like Gilbert's home!"

All three of the dogs came running into the living room, barking as if their lives depended on it, and moments later, the front door opened to reveal an excited looking Gilbert, hair wind swept into his eyes.

"Well, hello there, Sir Beilschmidt." Elizaveta said, looking at her nails, which were painted a light blue.

"Hey, did Matthew come by—" he cut himself off when he noticed Matthew sitting in the chair. "Shortie!" He grinned.

"Hi Gil…" Matthew gave a small, shy smile back. Matthew tried to stop the fluttering in his stomach. He was suddenly full of nervous energy. "You do sound a little sick…"

"Don't mention it." Gilbert sniffed, "But anyway you will _not_ believe this. There was a reason I was late getting here, and it was a _good_ reason too. I'll let you guess before I tell you."

"Um…you won a lot of money?" Matthew threw out. He was never good at guessing.

"I wish. No, get this." He held his hands up, the excitement returning to his eyes. "They finally fixed my car."

Elizaveta politely clapped her hands and Matthew said at the same time, "That's awesome. Did you drive it here?"

"No…alas," Gilbert looked woeful, "My daddy won't let me touch the car yet. He wants to talk to the insurance company and do stuff only adults can do." He said the last part sarcastically. "But if you want, we can go and pick the car up together tomorrow."

Matthew smiled. "Okay."

Gilbert grinned back at him, and Matthew felt his heart flutter. Then Gilbert turned toward Elizaveta. "Alright, enough bull shitting. Let's get to Toney's."

After about ten rounds of intense Rock, Paper, Scissors, between Gilbert and Elizaveta, Gilbert victoriously grabbed the car keys from her, and sat in the driver's seat of the Escalade. Matthew was sitting shotgun, and Elizaveta was in the back, when she casually brought it up. Well, not too casually. More like, "Hey, Gilbert, Matthew's birthday is in three days." Matthew was sure Elizaveta had been exaggerating. She and Gilbert both seemed to blow things out of proportion, so when she had said Gilbert wouldn't be happy when he found out how soon his birthday was, he had brushed it off thinking she was joking.

Gilbert stepped on the brake so hard, Matthew was sure he was going to have a bruise mark from the seatbelt.

"You are fucking _kidding_ me." He said, turning to look at Matthew.

"No…" Matthew said quietly.

"Gilbert, you're going to wreck my dad's car…" Elizaveta said from the back seat.

Gilbert faced forward, accelerating the car again.

"And I assume that you've known this for a while?" Gilbert asked, looking at her accusingly through the rear view mirror as if mentally saying, _Traitor_.

"No, I actually just found out about it like, fifteen minutes ago." She said cheerfully.

"Hmph." Gilbert huffed. "Way to drop the bomb on us, shortie."

"Hey!" Matthew protested, "I didn't know that it was that big a deal!"

Gilbert scoffed, and looked at him like he was stupid. "Of course it's a big deal! It's your _birthday_!"

Matthew crossed his arms. "Well, it's not that big of a deal at my house, so I wouldn't have known…"

The car was silent for a moment, and then Gilbert said, "We are throwing you a fucking _party_."

Matthew stared at him in surprise, uncrossing his arms. "G-Gil, you don't have to!"

"We _want_ to." Elizaveta said, sticking her head up from the backseat.

"It won't be anything big, but you'd _better_ come to my house on your birthday, even if you have to sneak out of the house without your parents knowing." Gilbert said, eyeing Matthew as they sat at a traffic light.

Matthew decided not to mention that his parents probably wouldn't even be around on his birthday, "Sure, I will."

"Good." Elizaveta and Gilbert said simultaneously.

There was silence for a moment, and then Gilbert asked, "You're really not seventeen?"

"I'm still sixteen." Matthew said.

"But I thought you were a junior…" Gilbert sounded confused.

"Well, I was supposed to be a junior, but—"

"You failed a grade?" Gilbert interrupted him.

Matthew glared at him before continuing. "_No_. My brother and I are supposed to be juniors, but my parents decided to hold us back and wait a year until they put us in kindergarten.

"Oh, I have a friend that's like that!" Elizaveta said, snapping her fingers. "Isn't it that thing where they make you take a test, and if you're not mentally advanced enough, they hold you back a year?"

"Yeah, that's it." Matthew agreed with Elizaveta. "They determine that if I were to do better a grade behind, because I would have that extra year to mentally mature." He sighed quietly. With his grades, he wasn't even sure if it actually did help in his case.

"I thought you were seventeen…" Gilbert said quietly, his eyes on the road. But even in the dark, Matthew could see the color rising to his cheeks from the streetlights.

"Pedophillleeee…" Elizaveta whispered from the back seat.

"Shut up, Eliza." Gilbert snapped, a small blush slowly crept up his neck.

Matthew stared at Gilbert in wonder. He had never seen him embarrassed, save for a few times, and he could only stare at the color rising in his cheeks, and think, _God, he's cute._

He blushed himself. Had he really just thought that? He crossed his arms over his chest, hoping that the other two didn't have some form of telepathy. Knowing them, he'd never heard the end of the constant taunts if they knew what he were thinking.

Gilbert pulled the car into the parking lot of the restaurant, and proclaimed, "We're here," like he was proud that he didn't crash the car. Matthew unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. Gilbert was already by his side, stretching his arms over his head.

"So, tell me." Gilbert said as he spun the ring of keys around his finger. "What did you and Eliza talk about while you waited for me to come home?"

Matthew looked over at him, and noticed he was running his hand along the back of his neck, a nervous habit. Elizaveta must have been telling the truth. Was he really worried of how Matthew would react, knowing about his past? He already knew about the incident with Francis and Antonio, so it couldn't get any worse than that…could it? Curiosity gnawed at his stomach, but he refrained, feeling uneasy.

"We talked about…" Matthew tried to think of what to say. "Stuff." He ended lamely.

Gilbert looked at him, clearly not convinced. "What kind of stuff?"

"Like…the weather…and the dogs…" Matthew knew he was feeding Gilbert lies. They had probably said about a sentence about each subject. But he seemed to visibly relax, nonetheless.

"Oh yeah. So, what about the weather?" Gilbert asked dropping his hand from his neck.

"It's very cold." Matthew said, taking a step toward Gilbert, who smiled, and leaned in.

"It _is_ cold." Gilbert murmured, resting his forehead against Matthew's. Then he leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Matthew tilted his chin upward to deepen the kiss, and sighed in disappointment when it was over. They stared at each other for a moment, a small smile for each other, before Gilbert tore his eyes away and knocked on the window of the back door.

"Eliza, hurry up! I want some pizza!" He called, and Matthew saw Elizaveta make a flurry of hand movements through the tinted glass. "God, she always takes forever. Let's go inside and get a table." Gilbert slipped his arm around Matthew's shoulders, and Matthew wordlessly followed, his skin feeling like it was on fire where Gilbert's arm was resting.

Walking through the door, the smell of melted cheese and dough made Matthew's mouth water. He suddenly realized just how hungry he was.

The waiter at the front gave them a weird look and Matthew assumed it was from Gilbert's albinism, until he realized that Gilbert's arm was still around his shoulders. It was like Gilbert was thinking the same thing, because his arm suddenly slipped away, hands going into his pockets. Elizaveta walked in and the waiter took them to the back. Matthew slid into the seat first, and Gilbert followed after him. Elizaveta sat on the other side, and gave them a pointed look, as if she were their mother.

"Elizaveta we aren't going to give each other hand jobs under the table, stop looking at me like that." Gilbert snapped to his defense. Matthew blushed and pretended to look at the specials written on the wall.

"Hey, whoa there, buddy." Elizaveta held her arms up. "Was I complaining? I'm not complaining."

"Of course you aren't." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "You know that Matthew has never been here before?"

Elizaveta looked at Mathew. "Is that true?" When he nodded his head, she continued. "God, you'll love this place. Me, Gilbert, and a bunch of people used to come here all the time on Friday nights. All the waiters know us by name practically."

"Except for the one at the front." Gilbert said.

"Except for the one at the front." Elizaveta repeated, nodding her head. "God, what a prude! You'd think he'd never seen an albino before!"

"Right, _that's_ why." Gilbert looking at Matthew, and winking at him, making Matthew laugh quietly.

A waitress came up to their table, passing out three menus. "Welcome to Toney's, I'll be taking your order tonight." She stopped, her gaze fixed on Elizaveta. "Umm…"

Elizaveta looked up at the girl with a smile. "Hey, Megan."

The waitress gasped and put her hands to her mouth. "No _way_ is that really you, E?"

"The one and only." Elizaveta squealed and leaped up, both girls hugging each other before Elizaveta sat down again. "So, what have you been up to lately?" She asked.

"Oh my _god_, you wouldn't believe…" Megan rambled on, and Elizaveta listened, nodding her head and laughing at all the right times. Matthew looked over at Gilbert who only rolled his eyes.

"So, how do you like the new school? I heard that you transferred…" Megan asked the question carefully, like she thought that Elizaveta would bite.

"It's so much fun. It's really different, because everyone at the school are like, prodigies in music or art so they all already know what they're going to do when they grow up." Elizaveta explained. "It's crazy too. Everyone's so _smart_."

"I always knew you had a thing for singing." Megan gushed, her black ponytail swinging from side to side. "Did I not tell you that?"

"You did. You did." Elizaveta admitted, giggling.

"But…" Megan bit her lower lip and her voice became quieter, "How are you doing?"

Elizaveta shrugged. "I'm doing okay. It'll be three years soon, so I'm excited."

"That's wonderful!" Megan clapped her hands together, "I had always thought Ashley had been a total bitch whenever she…" She trailed off, noticing the atmosphere change.

Matthew simultaneously felt Gilbert shift uneasily as he saw Elizaveta do the same thing, but she acted as if what Megan said didn't affect her. "Yeah, that was pretty crazy wasn't it?" she laughed, and Megan laughed uneasily too, looking relieved that she was off the hook.

"But, um…" Megan gestured to her own hair. "Your hair grew back really fast."

"Oh…no." Elizaveta ran her fingers through her hair again, and Matthew wondered if it was a nervous habit for her. "It's actually a wig."

A wig? Matthew looked at her in surprise.

"Oh…" Megan's eyes widened. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

Elizaveta shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, you know what I want."

"Yes!" Megan exclaimed, happy for the change of subject. "A vanilla milkshake and a personal pepperoni pizza." She scribbled it down into her notebook, and turned to Matthew and Gilbert. "And you two?"

"I'll have a small cheese pizza with some water." Gilbert said. Megan nodded and wrote this down like her life depended on it.

She pointed at Matthew with her pen. "And you?"

"Um…" Matthew threw out the first thing he saw. "A small sausage with green peppers and some water?"

Megan wrote down their orders, said goodbye to Elizaveta and walked off into the kitchen.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at her, making his voice extremely high, as if he were imitating Megan. "Yeah, how about it, _E_?"

"Isn't she adorable?" Elizaveta said, ignoring Gilbert's sarcastic tone, "She's going into tenth grade, and she's one of the flyers on the team."

Gilbert nodded like he knew what Elizaveta was talking about, but Matthew was confused. "What's a flyer?" He asked.

"A flyer is one of those girls in cheerleading that they throw into the air. They have to be really light, and preferably short." Elizaveta explained.

Matthew nodded his head. He could definitely see the height and weight factor in Megan.

"Hm…" Gilbert said next to him. "She's kinda hot."

Both Matthew and Elizaveta turned at the same time and fixed him with equally exasperated stares. "Just kidding! I'm just kidding!" He said quickly, holding his hands up in surrender. "Scout's honor!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and looked at Elizaveta. "You were a cheerleader?"

"Hell yeah, I was Co-captain." Elizaveta said, a proud gleam in her eyes. Then the gleam seemed to fade and she chewed the inside of her cheek. "Well, but actually, it wasn't really my thing. I'd rather do the sport than stand on the sidelines cheering."

"Or you'd rather _do_ the one doing the sport." Gilbert said and Elizaveta glared at him, as if they were in on some joke Matthew didn't know about.

"But yeah, I'm not a cheerleader anymore." Elizaveta said, tossing her hair.

"Because everyone on the team hates you now." Gilbert casually coughed into his hand.

"Except for Megan, because she wasn't around for half the drama," Elizaveta pointed out. "So there."

"No wonder she didn't recognize me." Gilbert said, sounding oddly satisfied.

"I know, right? It must have sucked to have been, 'The Boyfriend That Got Taken by the Girlfriend's Best Friend.'" Elizaveta said the sentence, forming quotations with her fingers.

"Who could forget the days of high school drama?" Gilbert leaned back, looking toward the ceiling.

"Right, and I'm sure Ashley won't make you forget anytime soon." Elizaveta said, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, Ashley?" Matthew said, a bit too loudly, suddenly remembering the girl with dark brown hair he had seen the night of the party when Ivan and Gilbert had nearly fought each other. Now that he thought about it, she and Elizaveta looked a lot alike, "The Ashley that we saw at the party?"

Elizaveta fixed Gilbert with a murderous stare. "You have got to be kidding me. He met Ashley?"

"Hey, whoa, _whoa_." Gilbert held his hands up, "Don't look at me like that. For one, Matthew and I weren't dating yet and we were at a party and she was just there, okay? I didn't conspire with her or go and make out with her in the bathroom like you probably think I did."

"Well…" Elizaveta sniffed indignantly. "What did you and her talk about?"

"Stuff, like…I don't know, she was just joking around. She was more interested in Matthew…" Gilbert grumbled. "Nothing about you. Stop being paranoid."

"I'm not…" Elizaveta huffed crossing her arms.

Matthew had been watching the conversation going back and forth, and he was completely lost. "Um…what's going on?"

"Ah, Matthew, ever the innocent." Elizaveta shook her head.

"Here, let me explain." Gilbert grabbed a salt and pepper shaker. "Elizaveta (shakes pepper shaker) and Ashley (shakes salt shaker), you remember Ashley from the party?" Matthew nodded his head and Gilbert continued. "Okay, well, they used to be best friends. Like, Friday night sleepovers and doing cheerleading together best friends. But then one day I come along (grabs ketchup and moves bottle across the table) and Ashley and I start dating. (Moves salt shaker and ketchup bottle close together) So we're going steady for about, I'd say five months? Then suddenly, (tips over pepper shaker) Elizaveta gets cancer. And since Elizaveta and I are really good friends, we think, "Well, Elizaveta isn't doing so well, so we're sure Ashley'll understand if her and I go to prom as friends." So, I ask her to prom ,and we think all is well in the world, because Ashley's in Orlando with her other cheerleading buddies for a competition (puts a napkin dispenser on its side and places the salt shaker on top of it), so it's not like she's going to make it back in time. And so (moves pepper shaker and ketchup bottle together) we would go to prom, and since Ashley is her best friend, we figured she would completely understand, and not cause shitloads of drama."

Matthew stared at the condiments before looking up at Elizaveta in surprise. "You had cancer?"

"I sure did." Elizaveta said sarcastically. "Chemotherapy, losing your hair, and not being able to eat? So much fun!"

"Oh…" Matthew could see how it made sense now. The comment Gilbert had dropped about Chemotherapy, and what Megan said about the wig. He looked her over again. "You don't look like you had cancer…I mean, you just look so…" Matthew paused, "…healthy." He ended awkwardly.

"That's because she runs, like five miles a day." Gilbert said.

"Well, there's that." Elizaveta nodded toward Gilbert, "But it's been a while since I've had cancer. But I'm glad that it's not obvious, like there isn't a big sign hanging on me that shouts "Look at me! I had cancer!"

"Actually," Gilbert cut in. "If you would stop being so impulsive, less people would wonder."

Elizaveta mimicked him and stuck out her tongue just as Megan came back with the drinks. The two girl's chattered for about another minute before she walked off, and Elizaveta excused herself to the bathroom, and Gilbert sighed loud enough that Matthew turned to look at him, noticing he had been wearing the same irked expression for the last five minutes..

"She really doesn't look like she has cancer." Matthew said truthfully, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Yeah, well…all power to her, but her little habits are really starting to piss me off." Gilbert grumbled.

"What habits?" Matthew asked.

"She runs everyday, which isn't that big a deal, right? But if she misses a day, she flips shit. Somewhere in her mind, she thinks that she's having a relapse if she's too tired to run. And remember how I said she eats a lot? Holy shit, she eats a _lot_. She's afraid that she'll lose all the weight she gained back after the procedures. God, I get it that she's been through a lot and that it's been hard for her, but it's really fucking annoying. Gilbert put his elbow on the table and rested his head on it, looking out the window.

Matthew stared at him for a moment in surprise. Even with the annoyed tone, he could tell Gilbert was really worried. Reaching out, he placed his hand over Gilbert's that was resting on his leg and squeezed reassuringly. Gilbert looked at him then at their hands, and his expressions softened.

Looking into Gilbert's dark red eyes, Matthew felt like he was falling. It was so intense, he'd almost forgotten where he was until Elizaveta came back and sat down on the other side. Matthew reluctantly looked away and reached over to take a sip from his water. Just then, Gilbert's hand closed over his knee and squeezed, causing him to jump and bump his knees off the table. He coughed in surprise, and glared at Gilbert, who was laughing.

"You _jerk_!" He wheezed, punching Gilbert in the arm with all the force he could muster, which he was disappointed, when his fist collided with solid muscle. Instead, he reached over and squeezed his knee. Gilbert jumped himself and half heartedly slapped at Matthew, who grabbed his wrist, and tried to wrestle Gilbert's weight off of him. They slapped each other back and forth until Matthew became aware that half of the restaurant was giving them strange looks. He threw Gilbert's wrists aside and hissed at him to stop messing around. Gilbert noticed also and cleared his throat, and sat back with his hands on his lap as if nothing had happened between them, though the grin on his face told otherwise. Elizaveta giggled quietly, an amused look on her face, and Matthew pretended to be annoyed, but even he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

Their food came in record time, considering that as they kept up the casual talk, (mostly just Elizaveta and Gilbert talking about things that she had missed since going to the new school) Gilbert kept reaching over and trying to grab Matthew's leg again. Matthew tried to keep a straight look on his face as he grabbed Gilbert's arm each time and threw it back onto his lap.

Gilbert and Elizaveta were right. The pizza was delicious. Once the dough, cheese, and tomato sauce hit his tongue, he spent no time at all scarfing the it down.

"So, you like the food?" Gilbert asked innocently.

Matthew answered with a non coherent "Nyeh," and swallowed another piece, practically whole, eating like he had just played hockey for two hours straight.

"I think he likes it." Elizaveta whispered and they both snickered, as Matthew glared at them.

"I told you it was good." Gilbert told him smugly.

Once all the food was devoured and Matthew was pleasantly full, he excused himself to go to the restroom. Once he was alone, he stared at his reflection in the mirror and realized he had been smiling without even knowing it. He was beyond words on how he felt around Gilbert. Even after so long, he couldn't get over the fact that he was dating Gilbert. Weird!

He splashed water onto his face, glanced at his grinning face one more time, and walked out the door just in time to catch Elizaveta and Gilbert arguing who should pay for the bill.

"Whoever gets to the cash register last has to pay!" Elizaveta called out joyfully, grabbing the receipt and running to the front of the restaurant, apparently not too concerned about tripping in her kitten heels. Gilbert made a noise in protest and followed after her, lagging significantly behind. Matthew reached the table and blinked once, then twice. He grabbed his jacket, and pretended that he had no idea just who the two people he had been sitting with were as heads turned in his direction and followed him to the front.

At the cash register, he saw Elizaveta putting her credit card back in her wallet, and gave her a confused look, to which she flashed him a smile, "I gave him sympathy points because he's a cripple."

"I am _not_ a cripple." Gilbert growled, but he did wince whenever he shifted his weight to his other leg.

Elizaveta looked at him unimpressed as she put on her jacket and turned to the doorway.

"I call driving home!" Gilbert yelled after her as she walked through the doorway ahead of them. Matthew fell into step with Gilbert and wrapped his arms around himself as he heard him grumble under his breath. "A cripple? I'm not a fucking cripple."

Matthew looked at him, suddenly feeling a spark of annoyance. "Gilbert, you've been limping everywhere for over a month now."

"But I'm not a cripple." Gilbert snapped, making Matthew wonder if he was sensitive about this kind of thing.

"Well, you will be soon if you don't do something about your knee." Matthew murmured, and instantly felt his face flush with guilt. He looked toward Gilbert looked as if he hadn't heard him. Once they rounded the corner to the parking lot, they saw Elizaveta walking away from the car, with a frown on her face. When she noticed them, she smiled.

"Why drive? It's a beautiful night, and we have a big enough hole in the ozone layer already!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up to the sky.

Gilbert almost immediately said, "The car ran out of gas."

"Nooo…" Elizaveta flapped her wrist at him casually, but didn't deny anything. "Besides, it's a half hour walk, max. And I haven't walked across the bridges in a really long time."

"Yup, the car's out of gas. Really Elizaveta? Luddy and I were going to drag race that thing tonight!" Gilbert sighed and looked over at Matthew. "Do you see what I have to put up with?"

"Must be awful." Matthew said in mock sympathy.

"Damn straight." Gilbert said and then called after Elizaveta, "We'll get my dad up here tomorrow to look at it." She only waved her hand at the response.

Matthew moved closer to Gilbert, appreciating the warmth since the night was so chilly. Elizaveta skipped ahead of them on the sidewalk, her hair bouncing in the yellow streetlights. Her heels made the only noise in the quiet night.

"So, are you spending the night at my house?" Gilbert asked.

Matthew shrugged, "Yeah, my parents won't be home for another day or two so…"

Gilbert made a small noise in his throat. "Are your parents _ever_ home?"

Matthew opened his mouth to respond, then stopped and closed it. He stared down at his shoes and quietly said, "Actually, they used to be home all the time."

There was a momentary silence between them, before Gilbert asked, seeming to backtrack, "Well, why aren't they?"

Matthew sighed. "They're always _busy_." He was shocked when he realized just how bitter he sounded when he said the word. Finally saying it out loud, he realized just how angry he was that he barely ever saw his parents

Gilbert looked at him, his brow creasing in concern. In a rare moment of Gilbert being unlike himself, he reached down and closed his hand around Matthew's. They walked silence for a moment, enjoying each other's company, until Gilbert spoke up. "So, what movie do you want to watch tonight?"

Matthew stopped, idly swinging his and Gilbert's hand back in forth as he thought about what movie they could watch. A good movie, something adventurous, but not with zombies…

He gasped and looked up. "_Alien versus Predator_." He nearly whispered, his eyes wide.

Gilbert stared at him in surprise before he threw his head back and laughed. When he was done, he reached over and ruffled Matthew's hair. "Alright, we can watch that." He said in between laughs.

Matthew shook his head, and playfully slapped at Gilbert's hand, but smiled up at him.

They walked on as they came across a bridge that crossed over the highway. Thousands of red and white lights from the cars lit up the road beneath and seemed to blend together into one long band. Matthew raised his arm, running his fingers along the chain linked fence lining the bridge, streetlights guiding their path, some of them flickering, as the moon rose higher into the sky. Him and Gilbert's hands swung together, and he could hear Elizaveta quietly singing ahead of them.

Matthew didn't feel cold wind prick his skin through the coat, and all his troubled thoughts left his mind for only that small, perfect moment.

**And that's the end of this chapter!**

**So, we all know that school is hard. But that's no excuse for this…lateness. Absolute blasphemy! I am ashamed of myself! Yell at me!**

**Anyway, I miss all of you! **

**Be good! Don't party too hard! And don't wreck your parent's car!**


	31. Matthew's Top Ten List

**Matthew's Top Ten list on Why I Should Hang Out with Eliza and Gil more Often**

Written by Elizaveta Hedervery, edited by Gilbert Beilschmidt

10. Even though I may complain about the dangers of traffic, I will not deny playing a game of Human vs. Cars Chicken on the highway with Gilbert and Elizaveta at twelve in the morning, because no matter how scared I am, it's just a cover of how much fun I'm really having.

9. Trying to catch the Koi fish in the pond at the park with our bare hands (Also known as _Noodling _if you're trying to catch catfish, proof that I learn many new things whenever I hang out with Elizaveta and Gilbert) like ninjas is not actually _that_ life threatening to the fish, so I should calm down, even if the one fish didn't move that much after Gilbert accidentally kicked it.

8. Trespassing into people's yards and switching their political signs is spontaneous and fun, and I should do it more often.

7. Playing the 'Penis' game in a friendly residential area is a great way to pass the time. (And for the record, Elizaveta won, because Gilbert sucks at the game…literally.)

6. Going into a convenience store and speaking to the clerk in German, telling him over and over again that, "That G-string sure looks _dayum fine_ in your see-through pants," until he nearly pulls out his hair is funny, no matter how much I deny it is.

5. Quickly retreating to Wal-mart and playing football with a loaf of bread and moving the Beta fish in the small plastic containers all around the store is a very creative way to play hide and seek with the fish, even if they can't seek and we can only hide them…from the people who want to buy them.

4. Climbing telephone poles and streetlamps is a healthy activity and makes you strong.

3. Whatever happens, it's not illegal unless a police officer, or someone of authority saw us doing it.

2. Even though I had my doubts, and voiced them, I will go along with everything Gilbert and Eliza say, even if it's illegal, because I trust them completely.

1. If Gilbert's brother ever finds this, he'll know that it was, I, Matthew Williams', idea (definitely _not_ Elizaveta and Gilbert's idea) to throw water balloons at him in his sleep. And it was very, very funny.


	32. Chapter 32

**This is a bit of a filler chapter so I can get into the second part of the storyline without much hassle.**

**Happy Canada day!**

**EH!**

**Enjoy, eh.**

"That movie sucked hard, for real." Gilbert said as he stuffed several fries in his mouth. "Like, I thought _Alien vs Predator_ was going to be good, but no, it was just bad. Really bad."

"I kind of liked it. Especially the part where everyone started killing everyone else." Elizaveta stirred her M&M frosty with her spoon.

"Dude, you fell asleep before the movie even began."

"But I did wake up for that one part."

"The part where everyone started killing everyone else." Gilbert finished for her.

"Exactly." Elizaveta nodded her head, and took a bite of her ice cream.

"You know, not to interrupt but," Matthew said, looking down at his sausage and egg breakfast sandwich in distaste, "why am I the only one that got anything breakfast related?"

Both paused to look down at their food. Gilbert looked at his burger and fries, and Elizaveta looked at her chicken wrap and frosty.

"Shortie, you have so much to learn." Gilbert sighed, looking up at him. "We are in a fast food restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day long. You gotta learn to break through the system, dude."

Matthew only raised an eyebrow at him.

Elizaveta, sitting across from the both of them, gave him a sympathetic look. "You know Matthew, if you want to get something else, that's fine." She said as she reached into her purse to grab her wallet.

"Oh no, don't." Matthew said hastily. "It's fine. I don't mind eating breakfast food for…breakfast."

It was ten in the morning. Gilbert, Matthew, and Elizaveta were all sitting in a booth at Diesel's eating breakfast. They had woken up around nine and had decided that as they were driving out to get some gas for Elizaveta's car, they would get some food on the way. Of course, as usual, Gilbert had found a way to make even eating breakfast a weird experience for Matthew. He was starting to get used to the idea that there was never a normal day with him.

Shortie, don't worry about her spending money on you." Gilbert said, "It's not even hers to begin with."

Matthew looked from Gilbert to Elizaveta in confusion, and Elizaveta coughed.

"Well, technically…" She paused, her finger raised in the air as if she were trying to make a point. Silence followed and she looked toward the ceiling. "Huh, I don't even have a good explanation for that."

Gilbert took a bite out of his sandwich and spoke as he chewed. "I do. You're a gold digger that took the money from a middle aged man that's sexually frustrated because his wife won't give out. He's got plenty of money because he's a lawyer, so he can provide for his children, but underneath all the fake happiness, he's on a sexcapade with a seventeen year old to spice up his boring lifestyle."

"Ah…I feel so bad for his three kids." Elizaveta sighed sorrowfully, "The one is almost the same age as me!"

"Wait, wait." Matthew raised his hands, staring at them. "You're not being serious, right?"

Elizaveta and Gilbert were silent for a moment. They exchanged a glance, and then Elizaveta opened her mouth. "His name is Peter."

Matthew only stared until the other two burst out laughing.

"We're joking, Shortie." Gilbert snickered. "I can't believe you almost fell for it!"

"What! I didn't!" Matthew shot back, getting red in the face, "I knew you guys were joking, I was just making sure!"

Elizaveta nodded her head, giving Gilbert some message with her eyes that only they could understand, "Right, Matthew. We believe you."

"We really had you going there for a bit. We should have kept it up to see how long you would have believed us." Gilbert said, dipping some of his fries in ketchup.

Matthew raised his hand and shoved Gilbert's arm. "Shut up, Gil." He snapped, becoming more flustered. "I didn't believe you guys!"

Gilbert turned to him, smirking. "You did."

"I didn't! The stories you make up are always blown way out of proportion anyway!" Matthew said this quickly

Gilbert didn't look impressed. "Right. Don't try to rationalize this in some lame explanation. Just admit that you totally believed us."

"I didn't!"

"You did!"

"I di—"

Matthew didn't see it coming. Gilbert suddenly leaned over, cutting him off as he kissed him on the lips. Matthew felt his breathing, world, and whole being stop and get absorbed into the moment. His eyes closed, and he instinctively reached up and gripped the sleeve of Gilbert's t-shirt. The kiss ended just as soon as it started, and Matthew stared up at him, his eyes searching his face for an explanation, if any.

Gilbert stared at him, his gaze softened, until it returned to the usual smirk that he always wore. "I win."

Matthew's jaw dropped, and it took him a moment to collect himself. "You're a jerk."

"I know." He replied back, in his usual smug air.

"Wow, if someone had seen that just now, they would have seen possibly the most adorable kiss ever." Elizaveta said, eyeing them with a small smile on her face.

"Hey, you liked it." Gilbert looked at her, "I know you. You're into kinky shit like that."

Matthew wondered what he meant, and Elizaveta raised her hands into the air. "Hey, I am who I am, not who I try to be."

Matthew suddenly became aware of just where they were. They were in a fast food restaurant, and even though they were in the back of the place where no one would have seen them unless they were walking to the bathroom, Matthew felt his face heat up.

"Gilbert, why did you kiss me?" He snapped suddenly, out of the blue.

Gilbert and Elizaveta both regarded him with weird look, having been brought out from a conversation they had been having. "Because I did…?" He answered slowly.

"Yeah, well, what if someone would have seen?" Matthew glanced around nervously, the familiar feeling slowly creeping up to him. He did not like this at all.

"Who cares?" Gilbert snorted. "If they have a problem with it, they can go fuck themselves."

"No!" Matthew snapped, and Gilbert stared at him. God, why wasn't he getting it? Did Gilbert want him to make a list of all the people that would have a problem with it? Starting at the top, he could put his brother, then Ivan, and then the hockey team. He felt his breathing quicken. Oh god. What if they saw him like this? Kissing another guy? They would blame him, say it's his fault, they wouldn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. And it would be all his fault, all _his_ fault…

"Matthew? Sweetie? Hey, you need to breathe." Matthew felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and his vision slowly cleared, the spots disappearing. He had been hyperventilating. Elizaveta was now kneeling next to him, her hands on his shoulders, a concerned look on her face. Matthew slowly took a deep breath, and then let it out.

"What…what just happened?" Gilbert said uneasily, looking at them both.

"He just had a panic attack, dumbass." Elizaveta glared at Gilbert.

Possibly because of the lack of oxygen his brain had been getting, Matthew laughed, finding it odd that Elizaveta had swore. He then came to his senses and lowered his head and shame. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I swear…"

"It's okay, don't worry. You couldn't help it." Elizaveta said soothingly.

"I didn't mean to." Matthew said sorrowfully. "I felt like it would be all my fault…"

"Matthew, nothing's your fault." Elizaveta said kindly, making Matthew look at her in relief.

"I don't want to interrupt the moment, but I'm seriously confused. Why did you just have a panic attack?" Gilbert asked, staring at them like they both had three eyes.

Elizaveta glared at Gilbert, but Matthew cleared his throat, giving him a sideways glance. "Um…it's really kind of…remember how I told you about when Alfred broke his leg and now I sometimes get really nervous in a stressful situation?"

"Yeah, I remember." Gilbert nodded his head, "But why would this make you freak out?"

"Uh…" Matthew looked at him. "I don't really…know." He finished slowly.

Gilbert stared at him, obviously feeling that the moment had become extremely anticlimactic. "Okay…"

"Well, okay." Matthew thought for a moment, then turned toward Gilbert, so they were face to face. "Back in Canada, Alfred had some friends that didn't like me, and they well…" Matthew took a deep breath, "they were convinced that I was jealous because Alfred was so good at sports. Our school was small, and he had broken two school records, each for football. Since it was during football season, and they had needed him badly, they were furious, and I guess…I guess they were looking for someone to blame."

"Did they blame you for his accident?" Matthew nodded his head and Gilbert scoffed. "Why? That's stupid."

Matthew shrugged. "They needed someone to blame, and I was the only person that had been with him when it had happened. They said it was my fault that he was out for the season, and that it should have been me instead of him…" His eyes glazed over and he stared off at nothing.

"What a bunch of douchebags. You would have never done it." Gilbert said. Matthew looked at him, seeing the determined look on his face. He felt his heart speed up, color spreading in his cheeks. He looked away, down at his lap.

"Well, it's a bit crazy, but I irrationalize stuff whenever I get like this. I was afraid that if I saw someone I knew while we were…" Matthew felt embarrassed, not being able to say 'kissing', "Well, I thought that they would get angry and blame me."

"Blame you?" Gilbert said incredulously. "For what? Making out with the hottest guy you'll ever see?"

Matthew meant to glare at Gilbert, but a small smile peeked through his frown.

"Besides, who were you expecting to see?" Gilbert asked, raising an eyebrow, "Your ex-boyfriend?"

"No." Matthew snapped, thinking fast. He couldn't mention Ivan or Alfred, he could definitely sense an awkward moment if he mentioned their names, so he said the final thing he could think of. "If someone from the hockey team had seen, they might have…gotten the wrong idea."

Gilbert snorted. "The wrong idea? They probably all bang each other in the locker room anyway."

Matthew glared at Gilbert for a moment. "No. That's just sick."

"Oh well, you never know. Do I know anyone on the hockey team?" Gilbert said, leaning back into his seat.

"Yes…I think you know Mark." Matthew remembered seeing him at the party with Gilbert.

Gilbert and Elizaveta looked at each other then snickered. "Yeah, trust me, he has no grounds to judge you on." Matthew didn't have time to ask what he meant before Elizaveta spoke.

"He's dating Ashley now, isn't he?" She asked, her tone bitter when she said her name.

"Yup, she's totally got him whipped. But not like you had. She totally pissed that's she has Elizaveta hand-me-downs." Gilbert smirked.

"Oh, shut up. Him and I were together for like, half a week." Elizaveta stood up, brushing off her knees. "Are you feeling better, Matthew?"

"Yeah, I do." He said, wrapping up his half eaten sandwich. He wasn't hungry anymore. He looked up at Elizaveta, questioning her with his eyes. "Um…how did you know I was having a panic attack?"

Elizaveta looked at him and smiled, a bit sadly. "Believe me, I used to have them all the time."

Matthew nodded his head and looked away, unsure of how to respond.

"Are we going now?" Gilbert stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, and pulled the car keys from out of his pocket. Elizaveta held out her hand expectantly.

"No, you're not driving." Gilbert snapped, holding the keys out of her reach.

Elizaveta pouted. "But you got to drive the Escalade yesterday. It's only fair."

"Fair nothing, you'll probably crash the thing in five seconds flat."

Elizaveta looked at him, unimpressed. "I'll tell Matthew about the time you decided it would be funny to shave one of Ludwig's dogs—"

Gilbert whipped the keys at Elizaveta, and with catlike reflexes, she reached up and caught them. She smiled charmingly at him and skipped out the door, leaving Matthew and Gilbert alone. Gilbert looked at their table, littered with sandwich paper wrapping, and crumbs. He sighed. "I don't really feel like cleaning this up."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Gil, we have to. They would be mad at us if we didn't."

Gilbert looked bored. "I don't care. They get paid less than I do, and I'm employed by my dad."

"Well, at least clean up your food." Matthew reached for his sandwich and drink and walked over to the trash can, throwing them away. Gilbert threw away his stuff also, though begrudgingly, then they both walked outside. When Matthew opened the door, a cool rush of air blew in his face and he took a deep breath. Either today or tomorrow, the forecast said it was going to finally rain, and the cold front would be done. Matthew was getting sick of the chilly weather.

"Hey, Matthew?"

Matthew turned and saw Gilbert standing just a few feet behind him, hands in his pockets. Something was up. Gilbert never used his actual name.

Matthew walked up to him. "Yeah?"

Gilbert looked over toward the Yukon, then back at Matthew, his face set in a frown. "You know that even though I didn't know you were having a panic attack, I would try to help you anyway?"

Matthew looked at him, and he tilted his head in confusion. "Um, sure?"

Gilbert sighed, and looked away for a moment. "Matthew, why didn't you tell me what had happened?"

Matthew stared at him. "I did tell you. I told you that Alfred had broken his leg when he fell down a gorge."

"No, I meant with the kids at your old school." Gilbert snapped and Matthew was so startled, he took a step back. Gilbert took a deep breath and shook his head. "Sorry, I just…I don't know anything about you really and…"

Matthew stared at him, a breeze blowing between them, ruffling Gilbert's hair. His eyes were a darker crimson, narrowed in frustration.

"I…I've never had a problem like this before." He chuckled in a humorless way and shook his head, "I just…I just don't understand any of it. Usually when I'm with someone I can read them like a book, and it's so easy. I just feel like…" He stared up at him, fixing Matthew with a gaze so intense, he felt his heart beat in his throat. "No matter how hard I try, I feel like you're keeping secrets from me because you're afraid that I'll treat you differently, or that I won't look at you the same."

Matthew stared at him in surprise. Despite what Gilbert had said, he _had_ read him like a book. Matthew was afraid of what would happen if Gilbert were to find out something about him that he didn't like. He was afraid to ask him so many questions that were on his mind because he figured Gilbert would judge him. He was afraid that if he said what was troubling him, it would be a mistake and he would regret it.

He had never thought that Gilbert would feel the same way.

Gilbert Beilschmidt, the popular guy. That guy you thought had his life in order because he could have whatever he wanted. And here he was, struggling to understand the emotions of someone like Matthew. This had to be a dream.

Reaching forward, Matthew gingerly pushed some of Gilbert's hair from his eyes. Gilbert glanced at him, his expression unreadable.

"I thought you said you were afraid of what the hockey team would think." He murmured.

Matthew pulled his hand away, and suddenly felt a rush of anger. Angry that he didn't ever have the courage to get over the stupid nervous disorder. It controlled his life sometimes and he was sick of it.

"Fuck the hockey team." He said, his voice firm and stubborn. Before he could think about what he was doing, he cupped the sides of Gilbert's face with his hands and kissed him on the mouth. Matthew could feel Gilbert's body stiffen in shock, until he leaned in and kissed him back, feeling the warmth in his body, the happy giddy feeling. When he pulled away, Gilbert stared at him in shock, his eyes wide. He was silent for a moment, wordlessly rubbing his chin with his fingers, just staring at Matthew. Finally he laughed for a moment, letting out a few astonished chuckles.

"Wow…just, wow." Gilbert cleared his throat, watching Matthew as if he might launch another attack. "Fuck the hockey team." He repeated, "That's a quote to remember."

Matthew smiled shyly and looked down. "We should probably go. Elizaveta's probably tired of waiting for us, and I have work at one."

"Let her wait. I can't begin to tell you the amount of times she's left me waiting for her." Gilbert suddenly reached down, wrapping his arms around Matthew's waist and lifting him into the air. We're going to play in the kiddie playground at McDonald's."

Matthew yelped in surprise and struggled to get out of Gilbert's grip. "Gil, put me down, put me _down_!"

"Nope."

"Seriously, I'll kick you!"

"Kick me then! We're going to that playground whether you like it or not!"

Despite his struggling, Matthew laughed out loud as he tried to loosen Gilbert's arms from around his waist. "Gilbert, seriously, I'll tell Ludwig that you threw those water balloons at him last night!"

Gilbert gasped in horror and put Matthew down, "You wouldn't!"

"I would!" Matthew huffed, smoothing out his jacket and trying to catch his breath. "I'll tell him!"

"Aww, please don't! I can't live on the streets again!"

Matthew giggled, giving Gilbert a weird look, "What's that supposed to mean? Does he kick you out of the house often?"

"All the time." Gilbert wrapped an arm around Matthew's waist and reached up, ruffling his hair. "So, how does it feel? You're gonna be turning thirteen tomorrow!"

Matthew dodged out of Gilbert's arms. "Gilbert, shut up. I'm turning seventeen."

Gilbert smirked." You sure about that? Maybe you should grow a few inches taller first, Shortie." He continued, ignoring the glare Matthew sent him, "You'll come to my house tomorrow, right? Eliza and I weren't kidding when we said we were going to throw you a party."

Matthew flushed. "I don't want anyone throwing me a party." He looked away, "But I'll come over…"

"Great." Gilbert smiled. "And make sure you give me everything you don't want, okay?"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Sure Gil, I'll do just that."

Elizaveta stuck her head out the window of the car and gave them each dirty looks. "Hurry up or else I'm going to leave you two behind!"

Gilbert so kindly flipped her the bird then looked at Matthew. "She wants some the presents too."

"I'd split it forty-ten. You ten, her forty."

"Sixty-ten. You thirty, her ten, me sixty. No further negotiations." Gilbert gave him a smug look.

Matthew shook his head. "No." He turned and started walking toward the car.

"Oh, that's not fair! And don't just walk away" Gilbert jogged to catch up to him, "I totally deserve my fair share of your presents!"

"_Your_ fair share? Then you won't mind when I get your share when your birthday comes up?" Matthew asked.

Gilbert stopped and narrowed his eyes at him. "That isn't open for discussion."

Matthew raised an eyebrow at him. "…right."

"Okay, okay, I was joking! You can have a share of m presents!" Gilbert grabbed Matthew's arms

"No, I don't want them! They're probably all posters of Nicki Minaj anyway!" Matthew laughed, trying to wrestle out of Gilbert's grip once again.

"Oh, that hurt a lot more than you would think."

Matthew laughed and Gilbert smiled, a warm feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time. Something about getting Matthew to laugh so loud and carefree made him feel so at ease and happy.

Not that it was going to stay that way for long.


	33. Chapter 33

**I keep forgetting if I made Alfred and Matthew sixteen or seventeen in the story.**

**And this chapter may need editing...**

**Enjoy, you snickerdoodles!**

"Holy shit." Alfred's voice sheered right through Matthew's dreams. "Matthew, wake up."

"Shut up…" Matthew rolled over, and pulled the blankets over his head. The covers were instantly yanked off.

"Alfred!" Matthew groaned, and curled up into himself. "Auuugh, What the hell?"

"Wake the fuck up, dude. You have got to see this. Holy _shit_." Matthew was suddenly smothered as Alfred threw a pillow at his face.

"Ow! Jesus…" Matthew blearily looked up at his brother and was about to tell him to get out of his room, until he realize that Alfred was definitely not ignoring him like he had been for the past days. And whatever it was that had, and Matthew could only guess momentarily, cleared up the tension between them was just outside that window that Alfred was so intently looking at.

Shivering involuntarily, he stumbled out of his bed, nearly tripping over the blankets piled on the floor in a heap that Alfred had to artfully torn off of him. He felt around for his glasses and shoved them onto his face. Looking over at his brother's back, he had obviously just woken up also, since he was only wearing a ratty pair of pajama pants.

"Alfred, what are you looking at?" Matthew muttered, holding back a yawn and pushing some of his hair away from his eyes. He peeked over Alfred's shoulder, and his jaw dropped.

Holy.

SHIT.

Matthew rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. He had to be seeing things.

"Are those for us?" Matthew asked, his voice cracking.

"If they weren't for us, they wouldn't put two big ass bow ties on them, would they?" Alfred answered, his voice sounding impatient.

Matthew looked on in silence for a moment. "Good point." He said quietly.

He had expected that for their birthday they would get new cell phones, or their parents would get them each laptops. Matthew remembered his parents kept toying around with the idea, trying to ask them discreetly if they each wanted laptops to replace their computers. Though Matthew had denied, saying he liked his computer, (the thing was practically brand new anyway. He felt like it would be a huge waste just to get rid of it after owning it for only a year) he wasn't going to be surprised if his parents had gone out and bought them anyway.

But he wasn't expecting that for him and Alfred's seventeenth birthday they would

each

get

brand

new

_cars_.

Matthew looked at Alfred, who had a particular gleam in his eye. "Which one do you think is, um, yours, and which one do you think is mine?"

"That damn truck better be mine, that's what's up." Alfred said without hesitation, then with the agility of a rabbit, he leapt backwards and ran out the door. "Let's go check them out downstairs!"

Matthew shook his head. Today was already strange enough. Alfred was actually holding conversations with him, and there were two cars sitting outside waiting for them. He pinched his wrist to see if he was still dreaming, then winced in pain. Nope. Following more slowly, he walked down the steps behind Alfred.

When he walked into the kitchen, he looked out the window and saw Alfred was already outside, walking circles around the truck as if he were a dog sniffing out clues. Matthew looked on amused and was about to follow him when he noticed something on the island. There he saw two sets of car keys and an envelope underneath. Reaching forward, he picked up the envelope and saw it was addressed to both him and his brother. Ripping it open, he pulled out a birthday card.

_Wow! You're seventeen already? _The sparkly blue letters stood out as a picture of a cartoonish white bear jovially held a cake out toward him. Ugh. Matthew had always thought birthday cards were so cheesy. He opened it up and two twenty dollar bills fell out. He stared at the money for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the card.

_Alfred & Matthew,_ the handwriting was his mother's. _You're both seventeen already, your father and I can not believe it at all. If you haven't noticed yet, I hope you do now that there are two sets of keys on the counter. We thought it would be fitting that you each get your own cars now since you both have jobs and from what we've noticed, you each have rather busy lives. If the cars aren't in the driveway by now, it might be because the car dealership didn't drop them off yet. Once they do though, there will be a set of keys in the car, and the pair on the counter, because I know you two, (especially you, Alfred!) and one of you may lose your keys one day, so I got a spare made. The two twenties are in case you have to fill up the gas in the car. The car dealer said the tanks would be full, but you can never be sure. _

Matthew looked at the money on the counter and the keys. His heart thumped in his eardrums and he took a deep breath, having a feeling that he wasn't going to like what he was about to read.

_Your father and I love you both so much, and we wish that we could share this day with you. But we each received calls from work, and your dad is in California right now, while I'm in Wisconsin. We'll be back in a couple of days, and we regret having to leave on such short notice. We do hope that you enjoy the presents you've received. Please go out and have fun, but don't get in any trouble! (Alfred, I'm talking mostly about you!)_

_Love, Mom & Dad_

Rereading the final paragraph a second time, Matthew sighed as he placed the car down on the counter. Of all the days for his parents to have to go on an 'emergency' business trip. But who was he kidding? They were hardly ever home anymore, today wouldn't have made any difference. He swallowed heavily, grabbed the money and keys and walked out the front door.

"Yo!" Alfred nearly ran Matthew over as he leapt up on the front porch. "Dude, check this shit. There are these little tags that say who they're from and who they're for, you know what I'm talking about right?" Matthew stared at Alfred, then slowly nodded his head. His brother's excitement had him acting like a little kid. "Well, the truck is totally for me, and the other car is for you. Isn't this kickass or what?"

Before Matthew could respond, Alfred was once again leaping around the shiny, absolutely brand new, black Ford f250 in absolute glee, while he himself stood in place and stared at his new car, a black Chrysler 300. Out of habit, Matthew looked around for the blue Cobalt, but didn't see it anywhere. He vaguely wondered if his parents had sold it.

"Dude, this is the best birthday ever." Alfred said, a huge grin on his face.

Matthew only absentmindedly nodded his head. He wasn't paying too much attention, and instead was too busy trying to calm the anger that he felt at the pit of his stomach.

* * *

"You have got to be shitting me." Gilbert looked like he was torn between shock and laughing hysterically. He had a hand hovering in front of his mouth as he assessed the scene. "That can't be your birthday present, is it?"

"Yeah." Matthew said monotonously, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.

Gilbert tore his gaze away from the car for a moment and stared at Matthew's sullen face in confusion. "You don't seem too happy about it."  
"I _am_ happy." Matthew struggled with the words. "I'm just…I don't know, not happy with how I got it…"

"Oh." Gilbert snorted, "They got you the wrong color, didn't they?"

"What?" Matthew snapped at Gilbert. "No! That's not why!"

Gilbert snickered, feeling victorious that he had found a spot to poke at and tease. Leaning sideways, he opened the front door and shouted into his house. "Hey Eliza! Look what Matthew got for his birthday! But they got him the wrong color!"

Elizaveta walked up to the front door, drinking from a Juicy Juice box. "Gilbert, what are you talking abou—holy shitake mushrooms!" The juice box Elizaveta was holding fell to the ground in an overdramatic clatter. "Is that your birthday present?"

Matthew shifted uncomfortably, "Uh, yeah…"

"Oh almighty canola. All I got for my birthday was a gift card to Macy's!" Elizaveta whined, "And there isn't even a Macy's where I live!" She fixed Matthew with a stern, and rather motherly like stare. "And you don't like it because it's the wrong _color_?"

"No!" Matthew snapped, feeling a losing battle coming up. "It's not because it's the wrong color! It's…" He looked between their faces for a moment, then bowed his head. "It's complicated…"

There was silence for only a moment until Gilbert spoke up. "Well, get your ass inside. If we stand around any longer doing nothing, there won't be enough time for the birthday sex." He gripped Matthew's arm and pulled him forward.

"Birthday se—Gilbert, what? No!" Matthew's face became a brilliant shade and he tried to pull away from him.

"Hey, it's the rule that everyone knows, Shortie! If one's birthday is to be celebrated, there must be birthday sex." Gilbert explained this, sounding almost logical and scientific.

"Gilbert, that's just wrong." Matthew snapped, not thinking of anything better to say.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Elizaveta shrugged and Matthew just looked at her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on!"

"Hey, Matthew!" Elizaveta bounced ahead of them, "Open my gift first!"

"Like hell he is!" Gilbert snapped at her, the birthday sex comment forgotten.

"Hey, I have a legitimate reason! I have to go in like," She looked down at the watch on her cell phone, "five seconds!"

"And who's fault is that?" Gilbert said.

Elizaveta pouted. "Hey, at least I do volunteer work. Unlike some people."

Gilbert didn't hesitate. "At least I have a life, unlike some people."

As Matthew was wheeled into the kitchen, he came face to face with bowls of snacks, and various soda drinks stacked onto the counter. Doritos, potato chips, cookies, they had it all. He looked up and saw in big letters, streaming across the doorway in red, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW!"

Matthew bit his lower lip as he looked up at the sign. He couldn't help but stare.

"It was Elizaveta's idea to hang up the sign…" Gilbert said from the corner of his mouth in embarrassment.

"Liar! You helped me hang it up!" Elizaveta glared at him.

"You guys didn't have to…" Matthew said quietly, his head bowed.

"Dude, how many times do we have to tell you," Gilbert said exasperated, "we wanted to."

Matthew looked up at him, and stared into his eyes. They were honest, and sincere. He felt a smile envelop his face.

"Thank you." He said, feeling his body grow warm.

Gilbert blushed and looked away. "Yeah, well." He scratched the back of his neck, looking flustered. "Let's get our share of food before Elizaveta eats it all."

Elizaveta raised her eyebrows at Gilbert and her mouth dropped open. "Excuse me? I don't eat that much!"

"Oh really? Remember that whole thing of brownies my mom made? You ate them all! And then you ate half a pizza!"

"I was hungry!"

Matthew laughed as he watched them exchange words back and forth. He wasn't going to admit it, and each time he felt it, he brushed it off. But when he saw all the stuff they had gotten for him, the food, the sign, and he could see the presents on the counter, his eyes had teared up, just a little.

* * *

"Okay, how about this." Gilbert took a bite out of a potato chip before he continued. "Would you rather eat a whole jar of mustard, or a whole jar of mayonnaise."

Matthew made a disgusted face. "I would eat the…mustard…"

Gilbert snorted. "Wimp."

"I'm not!" Matthew huffed, "I'd like to see you try to eat one or the other!"

"Can't. At this point, I feel so fucking fat. If I eat one more thing, I think I'm going to explode." Gilbert ran his hands over his distended stomach. Matthew followed the movements with his eyes. After eating their fill of junk food, Gilbert and Matthew were now laying on Gilbert's bed, staring up at the ceiling. They had brought a bowl of small candy up with them, and candy wrappers littered the floor as they carelessly threw them off.

"It's too bad Elizaveta had to leave." Matthew mused quietly, peeling the wrapper off of a Twix bar.

"Ha, good riddance." Gilbert said, and then laughed at the look Matthew was giving him. "I'm joking. She's actually really awesome."

"And really nice…" He looked over at the book she had gotten him that was sitting on Gilbert's desk. A huge, hardcover book with the title "Great Photography". The 500 page book consisted of everything from how to improve your photo taking skills, to how to develop film. "How did she know I liked photography?"

"Um," Gilbert looked away, a red tint in his skin. "I told her…"

"What?" Matthew turned his head toward Gilbert. "Really?"

"I did. Is there something weird about that?" Gilbert snapped, obviously flustered.

"No." Matthew didn't want to admit that he was surprised Gilbert even remembered that about him. He felt his heart beat in his chest. "Thank you…"

Gilbert looked away. "Yeah, whatever."

A comfortable silence filled the room, and Matthew turned onto his side so he was facing Gilbert. He watched as he stared up at the ceiling, as if he were searching out a million stars. They sparkled and gleamed, and there was a beauty inside them that burned with passion. Gilbert noticed him staring and looked over. They stared at each other, and in a moment of unguarded tenderness, Gilbert raised his hand and grazed his fingers against Matthew's cheek. Closing his eyes, he let Gilbert continue as he sighed quietly.

"Why were you angry earlier?"

"Hm?" Matthew opened his eyes and looked at Gilbert in confusion.

"Earlier. When you got here and I saw your sweet ass car, you didn't seem too happy about it."

"Oh…" Matthew averted his gaze for a moment, feeling ashamed. "Well, don't laugh, okay? And please don't think I'm selfish…"

"Why would I?" Gilbert inquired, and then smirked. "Unless you actually were mad that you got the wrong color?"

"No, shut up!" Matthew laughed, then his face turned solemn. "No, it's kind of selfish, but…" He took a deep breath. "My parents are working today. And during me and Alfred's last birthday, they were working too. And, I don't know…it just makes me angry that they…my mom left us a card that said that she hoped we liked our presents, but they weren't going to be home for our birthday. I get so mad that they just get me and Alfred these things, as if they're trying to brush off the fact that they can't make it to celebrate out birthday with us…"

When he finished, he looked up at Gilbert's face, and was met with only serious, and intent eyes. He had listened to every word, and it made Matthew feel in a way that he couldn't describe.

"That's not selfish." Gilbert said quietly, "It's not wrong to be angry…"

Matthew looked at Gilbert, his voice matching Gilbert's tone. "But it feels wrong to be angry…"

"It isn't. They should be there. It's your birthday after all."

Matthew mulled over this for a moment and Gilbert leaned over the side of the bed and picked up a small box that was wrapped with red paper.

"Here, maybe this'll cheer you up." He said sitting up, "I got this for you."

Matthew sat up after him and stared at the box. "You didn't have to…"

"Stop saying that!" Gilbert reached forward and pinched Matthew's cheeks. "Just enjoy the gift!"

Matthew laughed and wrestled his way out of Gilbert's grasp, "Okay, okay! I will! Just, ow! Just let go!"

"Good. Just open it. No complaining." Gilbert thrust the box at him and Matthew took it.

Slowly, nervously, Matthew ripped the paper along the edges off. The wrapping was so neatly done, he wondered if Gilbert had done it himself. He didn't strike Matthew as the type of person that would put time into wrapping a present so nicely. As he held the small white box in his hands, he slowly opened it and felt his breath catch.

It was only a watch. But Matthew could feel the weight of it, and could tell that it was definitely an expensive brand.

"If you already have other watches, well…I don't know, throw those out." Gilbert rambled. "I didn't really know what else to get you, and I know it's kind of stupid…"

Matthew pulled the watch out and looked at it closely. It was polished and pristine. The watch hands ticked soothingly.

"I…thank you…" He looked up at Gilbert with an earnest expression on his face.

"So you like it?" Gilbert asked, visibly relaxing.

Matthew nodded and pulled it closer toward him, holding it delicately. "I do…" He then blushed as he mumbled out a question, "Um…can you help me put it on…?"

"Uh, y-yeah sure. Just…" Gilbert's hands shook a little as he reached over and gently grabbed Matthew's wrist.

The cold metal slipped along Matthew's skin as Gilbert fastened the watch, the clip making a sharp 'click' noise. Matthew drew his hand back, feeling Gilbert's fingers gently graze over his skin. He looked mesmerized, and the watch's face glinted as the sunlight reflected off of it.

"You know something? You're incredibly humble even though you're rich." Gilbert sounded almost amused.

Matthew's head shot up. "Meaning…?"

"Meaning, if you like the watch so much, then you won't mind me taking the car keys from you as fair trade…?" Gilbert suddenly held up Matthew's car keys, a sly grin on his face.

"No, Gilbert." Matthew made a reach for the keys, but Gilbert quickly pulled back. Matthew reached again, but Gilbert merely backed up off the bed, holding the keys above his head.

"Try to catch me Shortie, I dare you!"

"What? That's not fair!" Matthew leapt off the bed after Gilbert, who had shot out the door, and was jumping down the stairs, two at a time. He reached the living room, and ran out the front door.

As Matthew jumped down the stairs after Gilbert, he realized something. That as he ran after this guy he used to hate so much, he know could only look back on it and laugh. He was sad, yes. His parents weren't here. He didn't know just how to react. He wasn't sure just how a normal family functioned. As he was lying on the bed, telling Gilbert about Alfred's new truck, or how his job was going, he realized that sometimes there were people out there that made everything okay, if only for a second.

Matthew ran out the door, and chased after Gilbert into the backyard. The sun only shined in patches, concealed by the darkening clouds of an upcoming storm. Feeling a burst of speed come on to him, Matthew closed his eyes and jumped forward, hands outreached. He didn't give much time to think about the consequences, and suddenly he and Gilbert both landed with a thump in the grass.

"Owowowowow! Okay, ow! You're heavier than you look!" Gilbert wheezed, grinning up at Matthew, his back pressed into the grass.

Matthew grinned right back at him, lying defiantly across his chest. "And you thought I wouldn't be strong enough to tackle you?"

"Nah, It's not uncommon for people to want to tackle someone as sexy as me. Usually what comes after that is the birthday se—"

"I don't want to hear it." Matthew placed a hand over Gilbert's mouth, a grin twitching at his lips. He loved the feeling of Gilbert's skin.

Gilbert reached up pass Matthew's hands and gently placed both his hands against Matthew's cheeks. He stared in silence, his mouth covered, though his eyes spoke, as if mesmerized. Matthew blushed and closed his eyes leaning into the confines of his hands once again. He uncovered his hands from Gilbert's mouth.

"Hey."

Matthew opened his eyes and stared at Gilbert. "What?"

He looked like he wanted to say something. He opened his mouth, the beginning of a sentence about to come out. Then he closed his mouth and shook his head.

Matthew leaned closer toward him, a cool wind blowing his hair away from his face, and gently ruffling Gilbert's. He leaned closer toward him, feeling the world, as if the gravity of it all, was pushing him down onto Gilbert.

They kissed softly, Matthew's eyes closed, his lips gently nipping at Gilbert's upper lip. And then Matthew was lost, feeling the wind pick up around them, as if he were being blown away. The weight of the watch on his wrist kept him grounded, and he felt it press against the chest of another. He pulled away breathless, slowly opening his eyes to see the same lost look at Gilbert's face.

If anything, it was perfect.

A perfect moment.

And a happy birthday.

**From where Matthew tackles Gilbert all the way to the end of the chapter, I couldn't get the song Apparat - You Don't Know Me out of my head. I believe it fits the scene...or not. **


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey guysss!**

**Remember how I said bad stuff was going to start happening?**

**Well, here we gooooooo~! … :D**

**Enjoy this chapter! I love you all!**

"Damn, Matt."

Matthew turned halfway and saw his hockey teammate, Mark, standing behind him, checking out his car.

"Birthday gift from my parents." Matthew explained before he could ask. He grabbed his hockey bag from the back seat and slung it over his shoulder.

Mark pulled his eyes away from the car to look at Matthew before he let out a bark of laughter in astonishment. "A birthday present? What the fuck? Like my parents would ever get me a car for _my_ birthday."

Matthew watched as he gazed longingly at the car. In the past days since him and Alfred's birthday, he was already turning more heads than he could keep track of. Usually never the center of attention, Matthew felt his face turn red at all the comments and stares he received.

He locked the door and pocketed the keys, walking alongside Mark into the arena. As Mark complained about the latest issues with his girlfriend, Matthew looked up and saw Ivan's towering frame just ahead of them, shoulders hunched forward, and his head lowered, headphones covering his ears.

Matthew hadn't realized he wasn't walking until Mark bumped into him. "Hey, why'd you stop?"

Matthew watched as Ivan turned toward him and locked eyes with him. Matthew raised his hand as if to wave at him, then stopped when Ivan deliberately turned away and continued to walk into the arena.

Matthew clenched his hand into a fist. "No reason." He answered Mark.

Matthew felt acid jump around in his stomach. He wasn't one to get pissed off over small things. But this was really starting to annoy him.

Things only got worse during practice.

With the whole team, there was a tension in the air. They had a major game against a rival team in just a few days, nerves were running high.

Matthew plowed through the drills, hoping that pushing himself to the limit would help him forget that Ivan wasn't skating next to him, and instead it was his other teammate Logan. Him and Ivan always worked together during drills. That's just the way it had been since the first time he came to practice. Matthew had always felt the most comfortable with Ivan out of all his teammates.

The coach blew the whistle, and Matthew turned his skates to the side, sliding to a stop, a spray of ice flying through the air.

"Alright, Letzky, Williams, Johnson, Braginski, Evans, and Weaver, go get some red pennies on. We're going to scrimmage." The coach pointed toward a pile of jerseys off the ice.

"Yeah, baby! Winning team right here!" Logan gloated, throwing his fists into the air. Everyone but Ivan and Matthew cheered their agreement. Ivan remained silent, head turned away, and Matthew managed a small smile for his team before he wordlessly grabbed a red jersey and throwing it on before skating back into the center of the arena.

Matthew didn't want to think of himself as aggressive, or even violent. But as he slid over the ice effortlessly, he always felt the adrenaline of the game flow through his veins. This was his place, and he ruled it. He pulled off moves and felt no falter as he passed to his teammates and weaved his way inbetween the opposing side.

It was five minutes into the second round whenever Matthew opened up a spot just big enough to fit through. He was in the perfect position. If one of his teammates passed to him then, he could shoot the goal, no problem. He scanned for whoever was in possession and saw that it was Ivan. Crouching slightly, he stood ready.

For the second time that day, Ivan locked eyes with him. The dark violet glinted as he passed over Matthew and turned toward another teammate, shooting the puck to them.

_What the hell?_ Matthew threw his hands up in frustration as he watched the puck get intercepted and shot into the other team's goal. He had hoped he had not just seen Ivan deliberately pass to someone else, when he was clearly open. The coach blew his whistle again, and they got back into position, waiting for him to start a third round. Matthew glanced over at Ivan and saw him staring off in the opposite direction.

Since it was a scrimmage between teammates, no one could purposefully shove anyone else into the walls, because of the risk of injury, and only instead bump each other with their shoulders. Matthew was losing his focus, and fast. Without thinking, he accidently shoved one teammate too hard, and sent him stumbling.

"The fuck, Matthew?" Someone snarled at him, but he didn't bother to see who it was. Because not only did Ivan avoid shooting to him once, but two times.

The third time it happened, he didn't expect anyone else to notice, but when he heard the clatter of someone throwing their hockey stick across the floor, he realized he was wrong.

"What the fuck, Ivan? You want to fuck up our plays one more time? Because you're doing a really good job!"

The whole team turned to see Mark, face red in anger, stomp across the ice and get in Ivan's face.

"Did you not see that Matt was open? Do you want us to lose?"

Mark wasn't as tall as Ivan, but he was just as intimidating. It wasn't uncommon to see him push his weight around his smaller teammates. Matthew had also been bullied by him for a while, until he'd seen the potential he had. This wasn't the first time he'd gotten into someone's face for messing up a play, but this was different. Instead of just yelling, his body was tensed up, ready to fight.

Ivan turned his gaze onto Mark, and Matthew felt a chill at the cold look in his eyes. No one messed with Ivan. Ever.

"Why don't you get out of my face, Mark?" The suggestion was quiet, a dangerous smile on his lips.

"Get out of your face?" Mark shifted his weight until he and Ivan's noses were almost touching, "Why don't you start playing like you know what you're fucking doing?"

"Oh…" Logan breathed beside Matthew. He wasn't the only one that knew that was going too far, even for Mark. Some of the other teammates stepped forward and made attempts to grab at Mark and Ivan's jerseys, trying to hold them back. "Hey dude, come on, lay off." One of them said.

"Fuck off!" Mark yelled at them, spit flying. He yanked his arm away. "You think you're so cool, Ivan? You think you can do whatever the fuck you want?"

"Do I think so?" Ivan asked, laughing incredulously. "You want to try me? Do you?"

"Hey, get this!" Mark said, and raised his hands, shoving Ivan backward, a sneer on his face. "I'll try you like I tried your sister!"

And suddenly, Ivan was on top of Mark, a crazed look in his eyes. Yelling erupted as teammates began trying to pull them apart. Matthew stood stock still, his eyes wide.

Holy _shit_.

As soon as it started, it was over, as the coach ran across the ice, whistle held between his teeth. He blew the whistle once, the shrill noise cutting through all the noise and with the help of several team members, he pulled Ivan off of Mark. Blood dripped from Mark's nose, and a small cut was swelling above his eye.

"Do you think we have time for this bullshit?" The coach yelled in both their faces. "If I see either one of you touch each other again, you're both off the team!" He turned to look at Ivan. "Ivan, go change in the locker room and get out of here! You're suspended from playing the next game! And Mark, don't even think of following him in the locker room. Sit on the bleachers until he leaves. NOW!"

Ivan and Mark both stood still for a moment, glaring at each other. Ivan ripped his arms out of his teammates' grasp and walked over toward the locker rooms. As he stepped off the ice, he drew back his arm and with full force punched one of the plastic guards that lined the arena. The sound was deafening.

* * *

There was a crash, and Matthew looked down at in surprise as broken shards littered the floor. Several people in the café turned their heads and looked at him curiously,

"Matthew." Toris laughed nervously, picking up the broken glass. "That's the third thing you've broken this evening."

"Really?" Matthew snapped. He stopped, looking at Toris guiltily. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry about it." Toris said quickly, waving off the sudden bite in Matthew's attitude. "You're just having a bad day, I can tell."

Matthew sighed and turned away. The fight between Mark and Ivan was still racing through his mind. He couldn't forget about it. Especially whenever Mark had brought up his sister.

"_I'll try you like I tried your sister!"_

He felt a sick feeling in his stomach. What had he meant when he told Ivan he'd try him like he did his sister? Whatever he had meant, it was enough to make Ivan go over the edge.

"_Go the fuck back to Russia."_

Matthew's eyebrows furrowed. Who had said that before?

"_You heard me. Go back and join your sister."_

Gilbert…

"Matthew? Are you sure you're alright?" Toris had a concerned look on his face. Matthew looked at him.

"Toris, why don't you and Gilbert get along?"

Toris looked taken aback by the straightforwardness of the question, and Matthew swallowed, hoping he hadn't said anything wrong. There was a moment of silence as Toris pondered the question.

"Well, it's not that we don't get along, he just doesn't like me." Toris shrugged. "I think it started after Ivan's younger sister transferred out of this school district."

"Ivan's younger sister? I thought he only had one sister." Matthew was confused. He didn't recall Ivan ever bringing up that he had a younger sister.

Toris nodded. "Yeah, her name's Natalia. I dated her for a while, and then she kind of broke it off with me…" He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Matthew began, but Toris only shook his head.

"It's fine. It was a mutual thing eventually. I don't even remember why she changed schools. She never told me, but I'm pretty sure people made fun of her. She was …different." Toris said the last part with difficulty, like he didn't want to reveal too much.

Matthew thought about what Mark had said. Was he talking about Natalia or Katyusha?

"Gilbert is angry with me because he's giving me more credit than I deserve" Toris had a strange expression on his face. It was stuck between a kind of scowl and a smile. "He thinks that I'm going to tell the truth."

Matthew felt a sudden chill run through him. "The truth?"

Toris nodded. "I had never paid much attention to all the drama that happened in high school. But I know that after the fire, Antonio and Francis were moved to separate schools."

Matthew eyes grew wide. "Fire? What fire?"

Toris frowned. "You know, when all those seniors had a party in that abandoned barn out in the country, and it caught on fire? It was in the newspaper."

Matthew remembered hearing about it from Alfred. He shook his head, confused. "But Gilbert told me that they got placed in different schools because they were joking about a bomb threat!"

Toris looked at him like he was crazy. "No? It wasn't because of a bomb threat…"

Matthew then began to feel defensive. "Wait, how do you know?"

Toris shrugged, not seeming to notice Matthew's change of tone. "Because I was there whenever he got in trouble. Gilbert thinks that I'm like Ivan." He paused. "And that I'm going to turn him in for all the stuff he's done."

There was silence. Quiet, murderous, silence. "What did he do?" Matthew asked quietly.

Toris looked at him, and didn't say anything.

Matthew felt his breath leave him as he looked away. Without thinking he pulled off his apron and put it on the counter.

"Matthew!" Toris called after him, but Matthew pushed through the doors.

How much of it had been a lie?

* * *

Gilbert wondered just how hypocritical he was being. Here he was, messily ruffling his bangs so they fell across his forehead in a windswept look. And he had always complained that those pretty boys needed to stop messing with their hair.

He growled in frustration when his hair flipped back again. A sure sign that it was starting to get long. "Ludwig! Get me your comb!"

When silence met his answer, he turned away from his mirror and glared at his brother. He was lying on the couch, Blackie sprawled across his chest.

"I know what you're talking about." Ludwig said as he flipped through the channels until he stopped on a kickboxing tournament. "Go get it yourself."

"But I don't want to!" Gilbert whined. "Because you have to be an OCD freak and have the room so fucking clean that when I go to get something, you always bitch about it."

"That's because you think it's funny to move my stuff around." Ludwig affectionately ruffled Blackie's ears, making the dogs tail thump against his leg.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. Oh god, his brother and his freaking dogs. Leave it to super muscular boy to be a total softie. "Come on, Ludwig. You'll be my favorite brother ever."

"I'm your only broth—"

"I don't give a shit, I need that comb. Get me that comb."

Ludwig looked at Gilbert, unimpressed.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway, made Gilbert look away toward the window. Blackie raised his head, his ears swiveling forward and back.

"Is that mom and dad?" Gilbert grumbled. "Why are they home so early?" When they got home, it usually meant a thorough lecture from his dad, and chores galore. He'd figure they would have let up since he was going to college in less then two months, but _no_.

He heard a car door slam, and then someone walk up to the front porch. There was a knock at the door.

Gilbert opened the door and his face broke into a grin. "Hey, Shortie."

In high school, he couldn't even keep track of how many people he'd been with. But he could hardly remember a relationship he'd had that wasn't based on looks, sex, or status.

Now he saw Matthew standing in front of him, staring back in his eyes with a fierce passionate gaze.

Those blue eyes.

He blushed, and felt his heart beat in his chest. Even the sight of the kid was enough to make him feel jumpy and full of energy.

But he forced himself to stay calm. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway, giving off the impression that he was nonchalant, that nothing could faze him. He was calm and cool.

"And how may my extremely sexy looks grace your presence today?" He asked with a smirk.

Matthew didn't even waver like he usually would. He didn't blush, lower his head and murmur something in return. Gilbert tilted his head in confusion. Now that he really looked at him, Matthew looked pissed off.

"You lied to me." Were the first things that Matthew said, his voice quiet and full of anger. "What you told me about Francis and Antonio was a lie."

Gilbert's eyes widened and he stood against the door, unsure of what to say next.

Okay, so maybe he hadn't been expecting this.

Shit.


	35. Chapter 35 part I

**GOD. I think I want to kill someone ._.**

**Every single time I tried to work on this chapter, someone needed help with something. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. ;~;**

**OHGREAT. And my friend **_**just**_** called me and said she was coming over to my house! –currently editing this chapter as I type this- See what I mean? SEE WHAT I MEAN?**

**I think it would be appropriate to cut the chapter into two parts. So I'll be posting part two soon!**

**Enjoy!**

"You lied." Matthew said again, wondering how many times he could say it without the bitterness leaving his voice.

Gilbert turned his head and saw Ludwig was looking at him curiously. Gilbert shrugged and rolled his eyes, as if he had no clue what Matthew was going on about. He swore in his head.

"What else did you lie to me about? Because telling me that your two best friends getting sent away because of a bomb threat wasn't enough?"

"Giblert, what's going on?" Ludwig rose from the couch, suspicion in his eyes.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Gilbert reached out and grabbed Matthew's wrist. "I'll be back in a few."

Matthew yelped and tried to yank his arm away, making Gilbert tighten his grip as he pulled him down the steps.

"Gilbert, let go of me!" Matthew was nearly yelling, his voice sounding more scared than furious. "Seriously, let go of me!"

"Shut up." Gilbert let go of his wrist as they rounded the back of the house. He saw that the red marks he'd left on Matthew's skin, and swallowed. But his fear of his brother finding out the truth overruled his emotions. "Ludwig doesn't know anything."

Matthew stared at him in fury with a hurt expression on his face. His eyes darkened.

"Oh really? Ludwig doesn't know either? And just how many people have you lied to since?"

"Who fucking cares?" Gilbert barked, then quieted down when he heard his own voice echo back to him. He drew up to his full height, towering over Matthew, and stared at him with a hostile expression.

"How do you know that I lied?"

Matthew didn't even flinch. "Toris told me." He nearly snarled.

Gilbert's eyes widened.. "Fuck." He spit out, running a hand through his hair.

Matthew could see that Gilbert was panicking, looking around as if he was going to find a way out of this mess.

"Gilbert." Matthew forced his voice not to waver. "I trusted you."

Gilbert looked back at Matthew, his hands still in his hair. He had thought that this would never happen, that he had hid it so well.

But now it was too late. And he knew that he was about to watch that final sliver of hope walk out of his life.

Gilbert laughed at the irony of the situation and walked onto the back porch, sitting down on the steps. God, he hated life sometimes.

"So…" He sighed in defeat. Yet, he was determined to still hold his head high. "Where do we start?"

"Tell me everything." Matthew said without hesitation. Gilbert flinched, refusing to look at him.

"Everything." Gilbert repeated. "Everything, everything, everyfuckingthing." He looked up at the sky. He stared at the setting sun, his face dropping down to a scowl. "You want to know everything. Everyone always wants to know everything. But sometimes it's better if they don't know anything at all. You know, so that no one gets hurt."

"Well, it doesn't always work that way." Matthew replied unsympathetically.

Gilbert looked over at Matthew. He smiled sadly, deciding to finally admit what he had always been thinking. "You amaze me more each time I see you."

Matthew only stared back at him coldly. But that was okay. He wasn't expecting a reply. He stared off into the forest.

"Today I was at hockey, and Ivan got in a fight with Mark. I always knew they didn't like each other, but right before they fought, Mark mentioned something about Ivan's sister…" Matthew looked at Gilbert. "Just like you had."

Gilbert didn't say anything and Matthew continued. "And then when we were at the bonfire, Lars said that you and Ivan used to be best friends."

"I'm surprised you remembered all of that." Gilbert said after a moment, "I thought that you had been too drunk both times to remember anything…I considered myself lucky." He shrugged, "Guess I wasn't so lucky after all…"

"Because hiding the truth keeps you _lucky_?" Matthew looked disgusted.

Gilbert shrugged. "Francis always did say I was selfish…"

"You are selfish." Matthew agreed, his voice laced with venom. He said the words before he could take them back.

"Yeah." Gilbert replied, his face falling sadly. "I know."

Matthew was taken aback by the sudden emotion on Gilbert's face. He almost forgot that he had ever been angry with him in the first place.

The sound of crickets filled the air, and fireflies lit up across the field. It would have been romantic.

"Ivan and I were best friends once." Gilbert began. "We weren't as close as Francis, Antonio and I were though. That was different. The three of us had been friends since we were little, so we were inseparable. No matter what happened, we still managed to pull through in the end. But Ivan and I were friends for…different reasons."

Gilbert paused, looking like he wanted to stop talking. But they both knew he had to keep going.

"When I was sixteen I guess I was bored with life. You know this, but Francis' parents are divorced. He has to help his mom with a lot of things that a father would usually help with. And Antonio is just an all around good person. I can't even think of a single thing that he's ever done wrong. They're both such great people, and I was the one that was pulling them back."

He laughed to himself, like he was remembering a joke. "I had always been jealous of my brother. Ever since he was old enough to get a job, I knew my father wanted Ludwig to work with him at the mechanic shop. He was the son any father would want. He's strong, has great work ethic, loves cars, and has manners. And then here I was, more interested in wanting to be a fucking math teacher of all things…"

Matthew watched as millions of emotions flashed over Gilbert's face. He looked like he wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.

"School always came naturally to me. I passed all of my classes with a 4.0 or higher, easily." Gilbert snickered. "I was an idiot. Even though Ludwig got good grades also, he didn't even come close. But, who cared? Ludwig was the one that wanted to work with cars. He was the son our father wanted. I'm the failure in his eyes. I didn't want to inherit his business, something a first born son should be honored to do."

Matthew looked at Gilbert, surprised. He never knew any of this.

"My father pissed me off so much. And whenever I told Antonio and Francis about it, they either told me I was lucky to even have a father in the first place, or that he didn't actually see me as a failure. I always felt like no one understood me, and they were only trying to see it from their point of view. So I said fuck it, and I went out one night and decided to just start doing drugs."

"What?" Matthew stared at Gilbert in disbelief. "Just…just like that?"

"Yup." Gilbert shrugged. "I'm pretty sure you can tell by now that I'm kind of spontaneous in my thinking."

Matthew didn't say anything for a moment. "What…kind of drugs?" He asked hesitantly.

Gilbert looked at Matthew. "I can make you a list of the ones I didn't do. It would be a lot shorter."

Matthew looked at him, stunned. "But, why?"

"I don't know. Maybe so that I could shove it all in my father's face. 'You think I'm a failure? Just watch, I'll live up to your expectations.'…I wanted him to feel guilty, to walk in on me high on 2C-I or marijuana. I wanted him to feel bad that he didn't think I was as great or even better than Ludwig. I wanted him to regret and want to apologize for ever doubting me."

Gilbert made a small noise in the back of his throat. "So I basically did anything I could get my hands on. The weak stuff, the strong stuff, anything that would give me a high. I started partying more, and I would wake up in people's houses that I never even met before. But I loved it. Each time I came home after a night of partying, and see that angry look in my father's eyes, I'd get the satisfaction of knowing that I was proving him right. Ludwig was oblivious to it all, I made sure of that. Because, he's my baby brother, and I love him…" Gilbert trailed off, looking regretful. "I know that the older brother is supposed to be the role model, but how can you compete with someone that's already so perfect? I had never once been mad at him. This was never his fault. I've always been proud of him."

"Gilbert…" Matthew said quietly.

Gilbert shook his head, determined to continue. "Francis and Antonio always tried to talk me out of partying or doing drugs. They eventually came to the point that they let me do drugs, as long as I promised them they would be there with me, so that they could make sure nothing happened. They…they're the greatest friends anyone could have…"

"But I was so lost by the time they tried to help me, I started to hang out with people that I used to hate in school. Remember Ashley and Tove? They were the sluts. The girls that would get shit-faced, then do any guy they saw. Then there was Mark and Lars. None of us had anything in common. The only reason we were friends was to use each other. Lars had the drugs, Ashley and Tove had the parties, we all needed each other for our own reasons. "

"That's….why?" Matthew couldn't imagine being friends with someone just because of their mutual needed to get high.

Gilbert shrugged. "That's just how it works. The more parties you're at, the higher you climb on the social ladder. You usually have to use a few people while you're at it."

Matthew didn't say anything. Gilbert took it as a sign to continue.

"After a while, the things I tried didn't seem to have any effect on me. I began to get desperate. I was looking for something that would really shock my father. I guess it worked whenever I overdosed on heroin."

Matthew looked at Gilbert, bewildered.

"I remember waking up in the hospital, my father looking so angry. Someone had made up some bullshit lie, telling the police that someone had purposefully shot me up with too much against my will. But somehow, it worked. No charges were pressed against me." Gilbert leaned over and placed his head in his hands. "Ludwig was fifteen then, and I still remember the scared look on his face when he walked into the hospital room. He had always been more reserved with his emotions, but I watched as he cried and told me he thought that I had died."

"Did you stop doing drugs?" Matthew asked shakily.

Gilbert shook his head. "After that, I was pretty scared, but I couldn't stop. There was too much thrill in going crazy every night, and then waking up, never remembering what had happened. Basically everyone had given up on me by then. I was amazed they didn't force me into therapy…

Gilbert chewed on the inner part of his cheek and stared straight ahead. "That was around the time that I met Ivan…"

* * *

Gilbert took another inhale from his cigarette and drew it away from his mouth. He exhaled, the smoke clouding around his face. He flicked the cigarette and watched the ash float around in the wind until it eventually landed on the ground.

He was so bored. Antonio was at track practice today. He would have gone too, but he had decided to skip. This wasn't anything new. He could almost imagine what Antonio was saying, what excuse he was making up for Gilbert. If you missed more than three practices without an excuse, you were off the team.

Well, whatever. They could kick him off, he could care less. Antonio was the one that should stay in track. Ever since they were younger, he had always beaten him and Francis in foot races. It was insane. The kid was like lightning.

A tall figure rounded the corner, and Gilbert hastily put out the cigarette. When he looked up again, he saw that it wasn't a teacher, just a really tall student.

"Holy fuck, I thought you were a teacher." Gilbert breathed in relief, putting the cigarette back in his mouth and relit it with the lighter from his back pocket. Gilbert inhaled from the cigarette again and looked over at the kid.

He was tall, probably six foot three or something. He was also a pretty big guy, not scrawny. Gilbert had no doubt in his mind that the football team was practically on their knees, begging him to join.

The guy looked at him quizzically, his blond hair growing past his eyebrows. He flipped his hair away from his face and Gilbert saw that his eyes were violet colored.

"If you were so freaked out about me finding you, why are you smoking on school property in the first place?" He asked.

Gilbert flicked his cigarette again and shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I want to get caught. It'll piss my dad off if I get into trouble again."

The guy raised an eyebrow at him. Gilbert could almost hear him thinking, _'Dude, you're as weird as your white hair and red eyes._

"Do you have anymore of those?" He asked, pointing to the cigarette.

Gilbert sighed and took out the cigarette pack in his back pocket. He only had two left. He pulled one out and gave it to him. "I need to get more from Arthur anyway." He said out loud.

"Arthur?" The guy asked, pulling out his own lighter and lighting the cigarette.

"That British sophomore with the crazy clothing and hair? He has a fake ID, so I give him some money and he gets me a pack or two sometimes." Gilbert wondered if the kid would rat them out, but decided that it would be pretty hypocritical of him.

"A sophomore?" The guy exhaled through his mouth and nose at the same time, something Gilbert couldn't seem to achieve, no matter how much he practiced."He's in my grade then." He said thoughtfully.

Gilbert's eyebrows went up in surprise. "No shit? You're a sophomore? Fuck, I thought you were a senior."

He shook his head. "No, my sister is going to be, though."

Gilbert perked up. A sister? He wasn't going to lie, this dude wasn't too bad looking. If his sister was half as good looking, or even better looking…

"What's her name?" Gilbert asked.

"Katyusha." He answered, and Gilbert's eyes went wide.

"Shit, that's your sister?" He exclaimed. She just flew over from Russia and was new to the school. After taking one look at her chest, Gilbert was in love with Russian girls. "Then, you're Ivan, right?" He had thought he'd heard a bit of an accent in his voice, but the school was international. It wasn't uncommon to meet people from different countries.

Ivan nodded. "Yeah, we transferred over. Our father lives here, so they decided to send us to a school in America."

Gilbert looked on thoughtfully as he flicked his cigarette to the ground. He stood up and twisted his foot over it. "So, how do you like it here so far?"

Ivan shrugged, "No offense, but American vodka sucks."

Gilbert threw his head back and laughed. "You're just trying all the wrong stuff, man. I know some people that get theirs imported straight from Russia."

Ivan looked at him interested. "Really?"

"No shit. I'm actually going over there tonight, I could pick you up if you want."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Ivan took a final inhale, then threw out his own cigarette.

Gilbert grinned. "Well Ivan, you're going to have a lot of fun with us."

Ivan grinned back at him.

* * *

"I picked him up that night and we went to Ashley's house. We got high for a few hours, and we even tried some of her parent's Russian vodka…" He smirked and placed his head in his hands. "Shit, I don't even remember anything after that."

Matthew was silent.

Gilbert straightened up and sighed. "Yup. That's pretty much what happened. And then after that night, him and I started to hang out more. I don't know, we'd go over to each other's house and just talk about stuff. His dad wasn't the greatest person in the world, and he smoked sometimes because he had to keep up the good grades since he's been here on a scholarship. He was actually pretty cool, but…" Gilbert drew his lips back like he smelled something bad.

"Gilbert…" Matthew said into the silence. "What happened?"

Gilbert looked at Matthew. He looked so curious, it almost made Gilbert laugh.

* * *

Francis sighed in frustration and watched Gilbert lay on the bed, and stare at the ceiling.

Music blared downstairs, voices mixed in with the noise. The light from the hallway cast shadows as people walked past the door, trying to find an empty room for them to make out in.

Gilbert's eyes gradually turned from glassy to clear and he blinked several times. He was silent for a moment, then he cleared his throat.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, his voice was scratchy, sounding like he was sick.

"You took someone's prescription, then thought it was a good idea to take some shots right after." Francis sounded tired, so much older than seventeen.

Gilbert raised his head and rubbed his eyes. "Fuck, I think I blacked out again." He said it casually, like it was as normal as waking up to eat breakfast.

Francis didn't say anything, and only stared at him. He had done this too many times to count. Gilbert looked around the room he was in, then laughed quietly. "I wonder who's house I'm in."

Francis scoffed in disgust and looked away. Gilbert looked at him, and raised an eyebrow.

"You have a problem, Francis?" He asked, a grin on his face. He was still a little tipsy.

"No, besides the fact that I was thinking whether or not I should call the hospital for the past three hours, because I thought you were going to die. No, I don't have a problem."

Gilbert shrugged. "You shouldn't have worried about it. I'll be fine. Worse stuff has happened to me." He stood up from the bed and wobbled on his feet, his head hurting. The sound of the music only made it worse. "Where's Antonio?" He asked, looking around.

"He had to go home. He has a track meet in a few hours, and I told him that he should get some sleep." Francis glared at him. "He wanted to stay and keep an eye on you."

"Awww, Anton is so fucking sweet. No wonder not even Romano can resist him." Gilbert walked toward the door. He stopped and placed his forehead against the door, breathing in slowly. Fuck, the drugs were making him sick.

"Gilbert, go back and lie down." Francis said sternly, watching his every move.

Gilbert shook his head, his eyes shut tight. "Dude, I need to walk around. I can't fucking lie down, especially on a night like this…"

Francis stared at him, "Gilbert, we both know that if you go out the door, you're just going to hang out with Ashley and you're going to take something that you don't even know the name of, probably have sex unprotected _again_, and wake up, not even remembering who you are."

Gilbert laughed, his forehead still against the wall. "Fuck you, Francis. You know me too well."

Francis' eyes widened, and his expression turned livid. "Gilbert." He said slowly. "You're not invincible."

Gilbert turned his head and looked at Francis. They stared at each other for a long time. Then finally, Gilbert looked away.

"Whatever, bro." Gilbert opened the door and stumbled out into the hallway.

"Gilbert!" Francis yelled after him, but the crowd of people in the hallway quickly swallowed him up out of sight.

"Agggh, fuck." Gilbert said, gripping his forehead. His head throbbed each time he took a step. The music sounded loud as it jumped around in his brain. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, holding it shakily with his hands.

**New Text Message from: Ashley**

_Where r u? I'm outside._

Gilbert didn't reply and put the phone back in his pocket. Making his way past everyone swaying to the music (everyone had drunk enough alcohol at this point that they couldn't even more coherently anymore), he gripped onto the door handle and pulled it open. A breeze of cool air hit him and he felt temporary relief from his headache. Walking down the steps, he saw Ashley leaning against the wall of the garage. He made his way over toward her.

"Last time I saw you, you wandered off with Francis. What'd you two have sex or something?" She smirked. She had never liked Francis, ever since he had turned her down. He flirted with a lot of women, but not with whores, he had said to her face after she had tried to get with him.

"You know it." Gilbert hardly paid attention to what she was saying. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. She smelled like beer. But it was a distraction against his headache. He looked over and saw a tool shed. "Tell me that shed over there is unlocked."

Ashley bit her lower lip as she slid her hand up his thigh. "Well, let's go check it out." She giggled and leaned against him. "Tove went with Sadiq and decided to fuck him, the _slut_." She spit the words about her best friend.

She was drunk again. But Gilbert didn't mind. He couldn't remember the last time they had ever fucked sober. The two made their way toward the tool shed.

Ashley pulled open the door and shrieked when she saw two people already making out on the floor. The guy on top of the girl jumped up in surprise, and both saw that it was Mark. The girl barely responded, still lying on the floor.

"Oh, great. It's just you." Ashley said, annoyed. She looked down at the girl, and raised an eyebrow. "Really? You can't even fuck a sober chick?"

Gilbert didn't even bother pointing out the irony of the situation.

Gilbert stared at the girl for a moment before looking back at Mark. "You gave her roofies, didn't you?"

Mark had a sheepish expression on his face. "Nah, she's completely drunk. She did it to herself, then started throwing herself all over me."

"Looks kind of young…" Gilbert observed.

"She said she was in ninth grade. Her name is Natalie or something." Mark shrugged.

Ashley had been staring at the girl in silence for a while. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "Holy _shit_, that's Natalia! She's so fucking _weird_!"

Mark shrugged, grinning. "Not my problem."

Ashley pushed past him and leaned over to get a better look. Her shorts rode up her ass, and Gilbert saw Mark stare. He honestly could have cared less. It was too obvious that they wanted to do each other.

"Oh my god, guys. Natalia is such a freak. She totally hangs around and watches us during cheerleading practice like she wants to have sex with us or something. I swear she's a freakin' lesbo."

"Dude, lesbians are hot." Mark said, an excited expression on his face. Ashley stared at him, unimpressed.

"Nice one." She turned back to stare at her. "Fuck, guys. She's such a wannabe. She tries to hang out with me and Tove all the time, and she stalks us. Like, get a fucking clue." She got down onto her knees next to Natalia. "I bet she thinks she's super cool because she's at a party where no freshmen are allowed." Ashley stood up, tittering on her heels and walked over to Mark. She grinned at him, then dove her hand into his pocket and pulled out a pocketknife.

Mark looked at her surprised, looked at the knife, then Ashley.

"Ashley, what are you doing?" Mark asked, looking at the blade nervously.

Ashley giggled. She tossed her brown hair out of her face. "I'm going to have some fun!" She squealed, holding up the knife. "I'm putting the ugly bitch in her place!"

Mark stepped forward hesitantly, not sure if he should restrain her. But in the blink of an eye, Ashley crouched down by Natalia again, grabbing a fistful of her hair. Taking the knife, she violently sawed back and forth until the hair ripped away. She grabbed another handful and continued cutting until the only hair left on Natalia's head was barely past her ears. It was a short, choppy mess.

Ashley put the blade back in and handed it to Mark. She pulled out her makeup bag from her purse and removed some lipstick. Using the very red lipstick, Ashley smeared it across Natalia's lips, giving her a clownish smile. Natalia only groaned, but didn't stir otherwise.

"Hey, bitch." She snickered, "Sluts have to wear a lot of make up to look good." Mark had taken off Natalia's t-shirt so she was only wearing a bra, so Ashley took the lipstick and wrote 'Wannabe' in cursive across her bare stomach. She threw the lipstick aside, then pulled out some eyeliner. Grabbing Natalia's cheeks roughly, she wrote 'SLUT' across her forehead in jagged letters. She giggled, then wrote 'bitch' and 'skank' on each cheek.

Gilbert blinked his eyes hard. The pills he had taken were still affecting him. He stared at the ground, and it started to shift underneath him. He staggered and grabbed the doorframe for support. Fuck. He looked at Ashley annoyed. He wanted to go inside and lay down, but he knew that if he didn't wait for her, she'd bitch like there was no tomorrow. He hated it whenever she fooled around like this.

Ashley finally stepped away, looking at what she had done. Because of the lack of light in the shed, the lipstick on Natalia looked like blood.

"That'll teach the fucking cunt." Ashley said, sounding proud. She threw the eyeliner into the back of the shed, then stepped outside of the shed. Mark followed after her, giving one last look at the girl lying motionless on the ground. Ashley took the shed door and slammed it shut. She grabbed the lock and snapped it closed.

Mark looked at Ashley bewildered. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Chill out, someone will find her." Ashley said nonchalantly.

Mark didn't say anything. He was drunk, and he loved Ashley. Gilbert wasn't stupid. Despite the circumstances, Mark looked reassured that, yes, someone would find her. No big deal.

No big deal.

Gilbert wondered if someone had some painkillers on them. The three walked back toward the party, acting like nothing had happened.

Three hours later, the party had quieted down, and most of the people had either passed out by now, or left. Gilbert was lying on a bed, alone. Ashley had gone off with Mark to 'talk', as if that was all they were doing.

The walls were moving like they were waves in an ocean. The LSD was wearing off.

The door opened with a quiet click and Gilbert thought maybe it would be Ashley, but instead, it was Ivan.

Ivan squinted into the dark and saw Gilbert lying on the bed.

"Hey, have you seen my sister?"

Gilbert thought for a moment. "I didn't know Katyusha came to these things…"

Ivan shook his head, "No, not Katyusha, my younger sister, Natalia. Have you seen her?"

Gilbert blinked several times. The asprin laced with the LSD made it look like Ivan was vibrating in place. He looked away to the wall.

"No." He lied.

A week later, there was a new profile on Facebook. The name read, "I'm a Whore!" and the profile picture was a photo of Natalia, smiling as if all was right.

* * *

Matthew looked at Gilbert horrified. In front of him, he was seeing someone that he didn't know at all.

"Gilbert…" Matthew took a shaky breath. "Gilbert, why didn't you do anything? Why did you just sit there, while that girl…!"

"Why did I?" Gilbert asked the question out loud, "Because I had no idea what the fuck was going on, I thought I was hallucinating. Because I had just fought with my best friend, someone who had decided to stay with my fucking ass for three hours, instead of just letting me to overdose. Because I didn't care about anyone else…" Gilbert looked down, and as if in a moment of thought, he bit his lower lip. "I only cared about getting what I wanted."

Matthew gave a shaky sigh and opened his mouth.

"And…what happened to her?"

Gilbert snorted. "Natalia? She came into school, and she played it off that she'd had her hair cut. She had gone to some hairdresser to get her hair fixed, and they had to cut it shorter than her ears. It was hideous. She sat at lunch alone, because all of her friends in her grade had ditched her, and every time she saw the cheerleading team, they threw stuff at her and called her 'slut'. And do you know what I did?" Gilbert looked at Matthew. "Nothing. I didn't do anything about it. Even when Ashley pushed her and threatened to fight her after school, I stood there and let it happen. I didn't give a shit if some girl was being bullied."

Gilbert shook his head. "And it was only a matter of time until Ivan found out."


	36. Chapter 35 part II

**After my unplanned hiatus, I present part two. I love you, juicy McNuggets.**

**ENJOY.**

_Gilbert leaned against the wall in the kitchen and watched as Elizaveta fussed over every little detail of the streamers. She hung them carefully, taking a pin out of her mouth and fastening them to the wall. She finished the row and stepped off of the chair, shooting Gilbert an annoyed look._

"_You could help, you lazy ass."_

_Gilbert gave her a charming smile, and didn't move from his seat. "I am helping. I'm going to eat the food so you don't have to clean up as much."_

_Elizaveta placed her hands on her hips. Both of them knew Gilbert sucked at interior design, something Gilbert decided he would leave to his spouse once they were married and living together. So it wasn't like he was being worthless. Elizaveta figured it was better he sit around instead of destroying her hard work. Balloons and streamers adorned the entire room, a sign hung in the doorway that read, "Happy Birthday, Matthew!". How she had gotten a sign that had his name on it, Gilbert would never know. Probably custom made._

"_When's he coming over?" She asked, tilting her head at the one bundle of blue balloons. "And do these seem tilted to the left a little too far?"_

_Gilbert looked at the balloons for a bit. "At noon. And I think they look fine."_

"_Yeah, but you suck at judging." Elizaveta snapped. _

_Gilbert looked at her like she had just come back from the dead and raised his shoulders silently wondering what the hell he deserved to receive this kind of treatment. "Then why did you even ask?" _

"_Urg, whatever." She walked forward and straightened the balloons. Gilbert wasn't going to mention that now they looked like they were leaning a little to the right._

_Elizaveta stepped back with a smile on her face, looking satisfied. "Perfect! He'll love it!"_

_Gilbert rolled his eyes. Elizaveta turned toward him, her face dropping into a straight line._

"_Just curious." She said, "But have you told him anything about the…stuff before?"_

_Gilbert tried to look Elizaveta in the eyes, but faltered and stared at the wall when he answered. "I haven't really been able to bring it up." He refused to see that disappointed look she always wore. Sometimes he felt like she was more of a mom than a best friend to him._

_He heard her sigh. "Gilbert…"_

_Gilbert didn't say anything and looked down at his knee. It was becoming stiff from bending it for so long._

"_Gilbert, you have to tell him. You can't hide this forever. He's going to find out eventually, and probably not even from you."_

"_I know!" Gilbert snapped, looking at Elizaveta, a snarl wanting to rip from his chest. He felt defensive, dangerous, and exposed. But she wasn't afraid of him._

"_I know how much you care about him. I can see it. If you don't tell him, he'll find out he's been with someone he never knew. Would you want him to realize that? Would you want to do that to him?" _

_She walked past him. "You wouldn't want that to happen to you."_

_Elizaveta walked up the stairs into the bathroom and closed the door. Gilbert stared at the floor until his leg started throbbing. He had clutched the skin on his thigh so tightly that he had cut it through his jeans._

* * *

Gilbert stood by himself in the changing room. Gym was his final class of the day, so he wasn't in any hurry to go anywhere. Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he checked for any new messages. Nope. Still none from Francis or Antonio. After the party a few weeks back, he had thought that maybe he'd been a huge dick about the whole situation. Antonio had been scared for his life, and Gilbert hadn't cared in the least bit. He wasn't surprised they were both mad at him. He was proud, but he allowed himself to feel a little bit of self pity and loneliness sweep over him. He had a lot of friends, but it was his best friends that he spent all his time with.

Now that he was thinking about it, he hadn't seen Antonio in school yesterday or today. Francis had been in school, but he had ignored Gilbert. But he could deal. Francis and he actually fought rather easily, since they were both rather hot-tempered. He just didn't want to admit it had never been _this_ bad.

And besides, Antonio couldn't afford to miss too much school. His family wasn't the most financially stable, and he spent a lot of his time trying to get a scholarship from running, and good grades, though he knew his attendance record may mess that up.

Gilbert felt pathetic, but he decided to go to Antonio's house to give him the history notes he missed as an excuse to see him. He couldn't believe he had sunk so low, but he didn't want to feel _friendless_.

He heard the locker room door open, but didn't look up. He pulled a fresh t-shirt over his head, and shook his hair out of his face. He needed a haircut. He could almost imagine Elizaveta grabbing a pair of scissors herself, Francis and Antonio holding him down as he pleaded for them to let him go. He forced the awful thought from his mind, hoping to get to a barber before anyone got the idea.

He stepped back from his gym locker and closed it, then jumped in surprise. Ivan stood before him, watching him. He looked like he had been standing there for a while, and Gilbert realized that he must have been the person who walked into the locker room.

"Holy _shit, _man" Gilbert's chest heaved. "Fuck, you scared me."

Ivan's expression didn't change. Instead he continued to stare at him, flat, his eyes dull. Gilbert hadn't talked to him since what had happened with Natalia. And he wasn't about to. After finding out it had been his sister they had locked in that shed, he'd stopped hanging out with Ivan, riddled with guilt. Gilbert picked up his gym bag, and was about to make an excuse for why he was suddenly in a hurry.

"Where are you going?" Ivan asked quietly.

Gilbert stopped in place and looked at Ivan. "Just…home. I have a lot of homework to do." He finished dully. He didn't know why he was suddenly feeling so edgy. He felt like Ivan knew. Like he knew that he had been involved. He felt guilty for it, yeah, but what was he supposed to do?

"You should stay and talk." The way Ivan said this made Gilbert look at him.

"Dude, I can't. I have to go, seriously. My brother's waiting for me." He tried to keep his voice level, but his eyes gave away that he was looking for an escape.

Ivan decided to skip jumping around the subject. "You come near my sister again…"

Gilbert stopped and tried not to swallow nervously. "Your sister? Katyusha?"

"Natalia, you _fucker_." Ivan snarled.

Gilbert took a step backward, wondering why he had tried to play dumb. "Okay, look, Ivan? I had _no idea_ that was your sister, and besides, I didn't do anything to her." He said quickly.

"And why would that matter?" Ivan asked, "I saw you walk out of that shed with your friends and stand while they _locked the fucking door_."

"I didn't know what was going on, alright?" Gilbert snapped, running out of excuses. He was a trapped mouse, at the jaws of a rabid wolf. "I hardly remember anything that happened that night!"

"You don't remember me asking you where my sister was? Or maybe you thought it would be funny for her to stay locked away for two days because no one knew she was out there?"

Gilbert stopped and stared at him in shock. "What, what do you mean that she was in there for two days? She—Ashley said she unlocked the shed after the party!"

Ivan laughed bitterly and Gilbert felt his spine shiver. "What the fuck? You believe that goddamn bitch? Of course she didn't unlock it. When they found her, guess what? She was so dehydrated, the doctor's considered it a miracle she was still alive."

Gilbert didn't say anything for a while, his heart pounding in his ears. Ivan's last sentence repeated over and over in his mind. _Miracle she was still alive, miracle she was still alive._

"I, I didn't—" Gilbert stammered.

"_Shut up_." Ivan snarled. Gilbert's eyes widened and he was quiet. "If I see you near any of my sister's, don't even mess with me. I will hurt you. Do you want to know what it's like? Do you want to see your brother in a hospital bed, messed up like my sister?"

Gilbert bristled, "Don't you _dare_ touch Ludwig!"

The bang that echoed through the locker room was the only sound for nearly a minute. Gilbert stared at the dent in the locker, just centimeters from his head.

"Holy shit." He breathed. "Holy _shit_, you're fucking crazy."

"Try me." Ivan said quietly, but it sounded like screaming in the empty room. He drew his fist back as Gilbert turned and ran out of the locker room, leaving his bag. He tried to look casual, as if he were only in a hurry with an easy jog, but by the time he was in the parking lot, practically sprinted to his car. People watched him curiously as he pulled out his keys, trying to unlock the door with his shaking hands. He raced out of the driveway, not paying attention to where he was going. His breathing was erratic, and his hands were sweating, making it hard to hold onto the steering wheel. A car horn blared through his brain, tearing him off his path. Quite literally. A car slammed into the side of his car. He felt the glass shower all around him as the car landed on its side. In a moment of delirium, he had thought that it was rain and he held his hand out, staring at it in wonder. His head felt hot and wet, and he touched it. Looking at his fingers, he saw blood on them. He stared at it, before the driver from the other car ran over to him.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" The woman yelled, frantically trying to get the car door open.

"What have I done?" Gilbert asked shakily, staring at the blood. "What have I done?"

* * *

Gilbert didn't want to look at Matthew, and Matthew was doing exactly the same. He had his hands laced together behind his head and was resting it between his knees. But Gilbert knew he was listening. He had been delirious from the accident, suffering from a rather violent concussion, but all he could think about was a broken little girl, and her brother, a crazed, murderous look in his eyes. He had never thought he could fuck things up so badly. He was a monster. An absolute monster.

He took a deep breath. He couldn't stop. No matter how much it hurt, he couldn't stop now.

* * *

After Gilbert was discharged from the hospital (He was only there for a few hours, having only suffered minor injuries, aside from a few stitches in his arm, a concussion, and a lot of bruises), he stayed home for several days, since his head felt like someone had thrown a brick at him. It was the third day on home rest when he didn't feel like throwing up each time he woke up, his brother came home after school with his homework. He didn't pay too much attention until he saw Antonio and Francis walk in through the door behind him.

"Yeah, you look like you're enjoying yourself." Francis eyed the huge bowl of ice cream Gilbert had with him. Hey, he was home alone, and no one was going to say no to someone that just got out of the hospital.

Gilbert sat up from the couch in surprise, looking between his two best friends. He muted the tv. "What are you guys doing here?" He tried not to sound incredulous.

Antonio looked at him like he was stupid. "Gilbert, you got in a car crash, and the only thing anyone knew was that some kid saw you get put in an ambulance."

Gilbert lifted his arm and pointed to the bandage. "I got stitches." He said rather stupidly.

"Yeah, we can see that." Francis said. "What, did you lose part of your head too?"

"Concussion." Gilbert said and Antonio nodded thoughtfully.

"I had one once. Did you see double vision?"

"I still do sometimes." Gilbert said. "They said it was pretty bad, that's why they let me stay home for a few days." This casual talk was making Gilbert uneasy. Shouldn't they be pissed at him? Weren't they mad at all the bullshit he had pulled on them?

"But you're fine, right?" Francis asked quietly. Gilbert looked at him and they stared at each for a bit before he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm coming back on Monday."

"Good. Dude, you scared us. Why didn't you answer your phone?" Antonio asked, the one that always worried the most out of the three. He had more motherly instincts than Elizaveta sometimes. Francis looked down uncomfortably, not wanting to admit that he had been worried or nervous about Gilbert's well being as well.

"I, uh, don't remember where I left it." Gilbert lied, remembering he had put it in his bag that he had left in the locker room. "I think I forgot it in my locker."

"That sucks. I'm going to get something to eat." Francis walked away. This was his friend's second home, and they didn't bother asking anymore, ever since Gilbert's mom had persisted them repeatedly that they didn't have to ask, that they could eat whatever they wanted in the fridge. She was always prepared, since she had two energetic boys in the house. Not that energetic was a word to describe Ludwig, but he ate like a tank.

Francis left Antonio and Gilbert alone. Gilbert felt like he was drowning in the awkward silence that ensued.

They both opened their mouths at the same time, searching for something to say. "I—" They smiled apologetically at each other. Gilbert took a deep breath and decided to speak first.

"Antonio, that night at the party a few weeks ago…"

"Gilbert, I could go on for hours wondering why you did that to us." Antonio's voice was soft, forgiving, but stern. "And I could come up with a million different reasons. I would like to know why you would want to hurt yourself, or why you would want to hurt _us_. And it's stupid, what you do. And for whatever reason you've done stuff like this, I hope you know that we'll wait for you to realize that we'll still be here for you."

Gilbert stared at his lap, feeling tears prick at his eyes. He didn't shed any, but he felt dangerously close to. "I don't know why I do stuff like that." He said quietly. "All those drugs, all that partying. I hate it. I hate all of it."

"Gilbert." Antonio said quietly. "Then just quit."

Gilbert hesitated, refusing to look at Antonio.

"Just quit. We'll help you. We always have. Don't turn your back on us."

Gilbert looked up at Francis. He felt his chest constrict as he held back a sob. He was tired of this hole he had dug himself into because he had this idea that he was holier-than-thou.

"I will." He said quietly. "I will."

Relief was evident on both of their faces. Antonio picked up his backpack from the floor and sat down next to Gilbert on the couch. "Good. Now help me with this Calculus homework."

Gilbert didn't know who to thank. But he did a million times over.

He decided not to tell them about Natalia or Ivan.

* * *

"Come ooonnn, Antonio!" Gilbert yelled from the passenger side of Francis' car. He felt nervous sitting in the car, but felt better that he wasn't the person driving. "We're going to be late!"

Antonio ran out of his house and leapt into the car. He grinned at both of them before they drove away from the curb. Two weeks later, and there had been an anonymous invitation passed around the senior class that everyone was invited to the party in the abandoned barn on Courtland Avenue. Years ago, a man owned a farm on the property. He had died, and he had no one to inherit the land, so the barn was left alone. It was a popular place for people to hold parties. The senior class had declared it their place this year before the underclassmen could, making it an all exclusive place to be. If you were a junior and so much as breathed air from inside that barn during a party, you were considered extremely lucky. No one lived around for miles, so none of the neighbors ever had a clue of the wild parties that people held in the barn.

Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis decided to all go, and they promised to keep an eye on him.

By the time they arrived and parked the car behind the barn, the party was in full swing. Someone had bought portable boom box that was playing so loud, the barn doors shook from the bass. Strings of lights lit up the inside of the barn, all hooked up to a generator.

Opening the doors, Gilbert saw several kegs at one end of the barn. Large crowds of people danced to the beat of the music, while others hung back and leaned against the walls. The place was packed, and Gilbert had to crane his neck to see anyone he recognized. After milling around for several minutes, they ran into Lars, who was dancing with a girl they had never seen before. It wasn't uncommon for people from neighboring schools to come to these kind of parties. The more the merrier.

Lars broke away from the girl and came over to talk to them. He told them that near the back of the barn, there was a small room they should check out that was up in the loft that people didn't know about since the staircase was hidden from view. Gilbert thanked him and he went back to the girl, who stood impatiently, obviously not used to being ignored for so long.

After some trial and error, they eventually found the staircase that was hidden behind some old wheelbarrows no one had bothered to throw out. Shoving the stuff out of the way, they climbed up the stairs, careful that they didn't break under their weight, and stood up on the loft. Gilbert found the room and saw that the lock was old and rusted, so he easily pulled it off. Opening the door, he let out a small laugh of delight when he realized that the lights in the room were hooked onto a mini generator of it's own.

His eyes fell on the tie dyed curtain that acted as the backdrop. The walls were covered in graffiti, people signing their names with dates, others writing poetic quotes, even detailed, intricate pictures of anything you could think of. The room was like a secret kept within a secret. This place had a little bit of everything in it, from old couches people had carried up over the years, to forgotten bongs, and old books. This place looked like it was meant for everyone, from the druggies, to the poetic and literate, to the party goer.

"Dude, this is awesome." Antonio said. Francis and Antonio nodded in agreement. "I wish Romano were here to see it." He added wistfully.

Gilbert made a face. "Come on, so that you two can just screw each other's brains out up here? Gross, dude."

"I agree with Gilbert." Francis said and Antonio shoved both of them, a grin on his face. They sat down on the couches and talked to each other for a while. Gilbert leaned back and listened as Antonio told them stories about his relationship with Romano, and Francis' reenactment's of the fiery Italian's attitude, which he imitated surprisingly well. He was more grateful than he was willing to let on, that if it weren't for his friends, things probably would have gotten worse.

After about fifteen minutes, he stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "I'm thirsty. Does anyone else want anything?"

Both of them nodded there heads and they agreed to all just get some soda. None of them were too interested in getting drunk tonight, and Gilbert figured the whole point of them trying to get him to become clean would go down the drain if he decided to start drinking now. He stepped out of the room, feeling a little disconnected at the loud thumping of the music, and the party going on below. The room had dimmed the noise significantly, making him almost forget it was going on. He walked down the stairs toward the drinks and laughed to himself when he found the cooler stocked full of soda and water, but the kegs almost empty. He pulled out three red cups and filled them with Sprite. At that moment, he had a weird feeling. Like he was being watched. He stood still for a bit, feeling uneasy. Finally, he turned around and his eyes fell on blonde hair, as a tall guy walked away, pushing his way through the crowd of people.

_No way_.

Gilbert automatically started following after the guy, wanting to know why the _hell_ this person looked a lot like Ivan. Why would he even be here?

The crowd grew denser as Gilbert got to the center of the barn, and finally, he lost site of the familiar silver-blonde hair. He swore under his breath and turned back, almost running into Lars.

"Hey, Gilbert." Lars had to yell over the music. He winked at him and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Guess who's hitting the road early with a gorgeous chick he just met?"

Surprisingly, Lars was sober, which never seemed to happen. Of all the places that he was neither drunk nor high, it was a party. Gilbert couldn't bend his mind around the irony for a moment then finally he refocused on Lars.

"Cool man. Listen, did you just see Ivan here? Like, five seconds ago?"

Lars looked confused and shook his head. "No dude. I don't even know why he would be here. He's not a senior."

"I _know_." Gilbert became agitated. "But I'm pretty sure I just saw him here." He looked around himself, as if Ivan may just be standing over his shoulder.

Lars shrugged. "I don't know dude. He's probably just crashing the party or something."

Gilbert didn't say anything else. He looked over his shoulder and his shoulder's stiffened because once again, he saw the blonde hair moving through the crowd towards the area where he had left his drinks. Gilbert pushed past Lars and ignored him as he shouted for him to come back. He shoved and pushed until he broke away from the crowd and walked over to the drinks. No one was there. Was he hallucinating? Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he was still having side effects from the concussion. The music from the party was giving him a bit of a headache anyway. Grabbing his drink with shaky hands, he downed half of it, giving to calm himself down. He was nervous, and felt stupid that he was acting so silly because he thought he had seen Ivan.

_Get a hold of yourself._ He scolded himself and grabbed the two other drinks. _He's not here._

He walked back into the room and tried to laugh it off when Francis jokingly said he looked like he had seen a ghost. All three sat around, and continued to talk, Gilbert trying to tear his mind away from the image of Ivan. He could have _sworn _he had seen him…

He was lost in his own thoughts, his friends' voices a quiet murmur in the background. He felt like it happened suddenly, when he became aware that things started to feel a little weird around him. His whole body felt oddly light, as if he were floating, and Antonio seemed to be talking really slow. Gilbert blinked twice, and felt something begin to drip from his mouth. He placed a hand to his lips and pulled it away. "I'm bleeding." He said it slowly, his words slurring together.

Antonio turned and looked at Gilbert, who was staring at his hand mystified. He was alarmed until he saw that there wasn't any blood on Gilbert at all.

"You're not bleeding." Francis said, giving Gilbert a weird look. Gilbert wiped his mouth on his arm and blankly stared at both of them for a moment. Then he started laughing, sounding mad and unstable. "I think I'm dying! My liver's covered in blood."

Antonio and Francis looked at each other, a bit disturbed. Something about Gilbert's blank stare wasn't right.

"Gilbert, are you alright?" Antonio began to stand up slowly. "Did you take something while you were downstairs getting our drinks?"

Gilbert wasn't paying attention as he watched blood beginning to seep through the walls. Severed rabbits head were hanging from the ceiling, their eyes rolling back. He saw Antonio walk toward him, arms outstretched, his eyes pure black.

"Don't touch me!" Gilbert screamed in horror, striking his arm out in fear. It hit Antonio square in the chest and he crumbled to the ground, clutching himself and wheezing. Francis ran forward to Antonio, and watched in disbelief as Gilbert seemed to momentarily fight with something invisible, then leap over the couches toward the door.

It slammed shut right in his face. He just glimpsed that familiar silver-blonde hair and blue-violet eyes before he heard a metal rod be shoved through the lock. He tried to push the door open several times, but it didn't give, until he was ramming his whole body against the frame with all of his weight. He repeated over and over in a quiet monotone, "The door's locked, the door's locked, the door's locked…" He stared back at his two friends, but all he saw was the black eyes. He was stuck in a room with two demons.

Sinking to the ground, he rocked back and forth, his head stuck tightly between his legs. He stayed like that for what seemed like hours.

Antonio stumbled to his feet, still clutching his chest in pain. He stopped and his eyes became wide in alarm.

"I smell smoke." He said, looking at Francis, fear and confusion in his eyes.

Gilbert leapt up and suddenly began pacing back and forth. "Smoke, smoke, like a fire. There's smoke, there's a fire, someone started a fire, there's a fire, there's smoke, someone can smell smoke." He stopped abruptly when several screams could be heard from downstairs, and then a guy yelling, 'Fire!'

Gilbert turned back to the door and began trying to pull it open again, muttering to himself. "Smoke, fire, there's a fire..."

Pictures flashed through his mind and he had no idea how much time was passing anymore. The next thing he saw was Francis' face. "Gilbert!" Francis shook his friend's shoulders, hoping to snap him out of the trance. "Listen to me! There's a window in the back, and we can jump from it into the trees. We'll climb down, okay?"

Gilbert screamed in terror as his friend's face transformed with fangs, and a sickening grin. His tongue dripped with blood, _his_ blood. He ripped himself from Francis' arms and ran toward the window.

He ran right through the glass. He curled in on himself, escaping the fangs and blood.

He landed on the ground, feeling no pain. He rolled over and watched the sky burn.

The next thing Gilbert could remember was throwing up. He had no idea how much time passed since he watched the barn burning to him retching, or why he was in the middle of the woods now. After he felt like he had emptied his stomach, he collapsed on the ground, his eyes staring blankly at the trees in front of him. He was pale and covered in sweat. He could hear wailing in the background and he realized it was the fire truck coming to put out the fire.

"Shit, we have to get him to a hospital." Antonio's voice sounded disoriented and far away. He felt Antonio gently pet his hair back from his face. It felt soothing.

Gilbert felt himself slipping back and forth in consciousness, as he watched Francis pace forth in frustration. A fourth kid was standing absolutely still, watching Gilbert with wide eyes.

"My keys were in that room." Francis snapped. "How the hell are we going to get him to a hospital?"

Antonio checked his cell phone and saw he didn't have a signal. He threw the phone aside and ran a hand through his hair.

The kid standing by himself finally spoke up. He had curly black hair that he shook out of his face. "Did he have too much to drink, or something? Because if we get caught—"

Francis and Antonio both told the kid to go to hell, causing him to snap his mouth shut rather quickly.

"What are you even doing here in the first place?" Francis asked accusingly. "Aren't you the principal's son?"

Gilbert connected a name with the face. Nathan Bolden. Mrs. Bolden's son. He was in the same grade as them.

He was nearly unconscious when he managed to whisper out a few words. "Ivan…"

Antonio whipped his head around and looked at Gilbert. "What?"

"Ivan…Ivan locked the door." He whispered pitifully, fear in his eyes. In his mind, he saw Ivan in the locker room over and over again.

"_Holy shit. Holy _shit_, you're fucking crazy."_

"_Try me."_

He passed out, just as a police officer walked through the brush, spotting the four of them.

* * *

Later that week, Gilbert's drug test came back positive for Phencyclidine. The doctor's said that he had ingested it orally, suggesting that someone may have slipped it into a drink he'd had. Within minutes of taking the drug, he had hallucinated, and then jumped out of a window. Gilbert remained silent, shrugging when they asked who they think it might have been that did something like that. But he knew exactly who it was. In his mind's eye, he saw Ivan drop three amounts of powdered PCP into the drinks at the party. It was simply a miracle Francis or Antonio hadn't touched their drinks.

Gilbert considered himself lucky that he left the hospital with only a knee brace. He wondered how he wasn't dead.

He disclosed the information the doctor's told him from his parent's and told them that he had fallen while playing soccer with friends.

The barn had burned completely to the ground that night. It was all over the news the next day. Police suspected arson, though it could have simply been the generator overheating too close to the barn. About ten kids were caught, including Antonio, Francis, Gilbert, and Nathan, the principal's son. They were caught in the woods and escorted to the police station for questioning, except for Gilbert who was sent to the hospital.

They were going to be charged with underage drinking, and/or being in the presence of underage drinking. Francis told Gilbert later on that Mrs. Bolden had bribed the police out of questioning the four of them. How she did it, he didn't know, but he said that since her son had been involved, she was afraid for her reputation being ruined. And because they had been with him when he was caught, she feared they would give the police his name.

It was a secret he knew about the principal. That she pulled strings to get her way, and used bribery to keep her record looking clean.

Within the next week, she had made up an excuse related to a bomb threat, and transferred Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and Francis Bonnefoy to different schools. The final thing the principal had said to Gilbert as he walked out of the office was, "We just simply can't let people find out about this."

* * *

When Gilbert finished speaking, Matthew was beside himself in shock. There was no way…there was no way that Ivan would have done something like this. He couldn't bring himself to believe it.

"Matt…" Gilbert's voice sounded desperate. "Please say something."

Matthew opened his mouth, but no words came out. He couldn't bring himself to look at Gilbert as he stood up. "What am I supposed to say?"

"Anything. Just please…"

Matthew's hands fidgeted. "I…I don't know. I have to think about this."

He walked away, leaving Gilbert, not wanting to turn back, not wanting to believe anything he had just heard.


	37. Chapter 37

**Welcome Back. :)**

**Disclaimers: Rusty writing, long hiatus, sorry guise, don't kill me plz.**

**But, I miss you all, and I'm glad to be back (:**

**a/n: I apologize if I haven't been able to reply to everyone's comments/personal messages. I'll try to get to them all if I can!**

**Enjoy Chapter 36!**

Gilbert watched Matthew walk away from him, and his heart thumped loudly in his chest. He felt like it was going to break into a million pieces, but it didn't, and it continued to pump his blood and hurt from all the confusing, fucked-up feelings he felt.

Without much of a thought, he ripped open the front door and walked upstairs to his bedroom. He stood in place, looking straight ahead, with no idea what he was supposed to do next.

He had never felt anything like this before. He was proud, and unashamed, and yet, he stood there, wanting to run outside and drive to Matthew's house and grab him. And he was embarrassed. How could that little...how could he make him feel like this? He felt like he was going mad, and like he had made a huge mistake.

He covered his face with his hands and sunk down onto his bed, letting in a shaky breath. He had wished that Matthew had never found out. He wished that he didn't have to tell him. But he did. He had to tell him everything.

He didn't think he had ever felt so alone in his entire life.

* * *

Matthew slept badly that night. Everything that had happened replayed in his mind. He had trusted Gilbert, and he had lied to him. He didn't feel as mad anymore, more confused and hurt, like Gilbert had expected to hide this from him forever.

That wasn't the only issue that had him turning and furrowing his eyebrows in worry. His friends from hockey, Mark and Ivan, now had their own dark secrets that he had never known, even Katyusha. He felt sad for the girl that had liked him through high school, the girl that had been like a mother to him. All the things she must have gone through. Having to deal with her little sister being harassed and sent away, all the pain she must have felt, and Matthew never had heard any of it.

It was like all the pieces of the puzzle were finally starting to fit.

Whenever he had taken pictures for the track meet with Katyusha, he remembered Gilbert hadn't been wearing a knee brace. And then the next time they saw each other, he had been limping up to him while he was skipping his Biology class. In-between those few days, Gilbert had been drugged by Ivan, and Antonio and Francis had been sent away. Thinking back on it now, it almost made sense why Gilbert was so verbally abusive (more so than usual) and on edge. Matthew had no clue about everything that had happened behind the curtains.

What was he supposed to do about all of it? His heart still yearned to be back with Gilbert, to be dragged into all the crazy things he liked to do, but at the same time, he didn't know if he could deal with everything he had just found out. This wasn't something that he could just forget about. He didn't have a lot of friends, let alone dated anyone of either sex before. He had put his trust out, he had loved unconditionally, and he had been fooled.

In a matter of hours, he had found out the Gilbert Beilschmidt he thought he had known was just a stranger to him. The real Gilbert was cruel and unforgiving, selfishly only wanting his piece of the cake, and willing to walk over everyone else to get it.

But, there was another side to Gilbert that Matthew had gotten to know too. The softer side, the side that would talk to him quietly while they lay on a bed together. The side that would gently brush Matthew's hair away from his face before kissing his forehead, the side that when Matthew would be thinking about something, and he would look over to see a small smile on Gilbert's face. This was the Gilbert he had gotten to know, and it was the side he held on to and cherished every moment he got.

No one had ever told him they loved him, aside from his parents. He had never given relationships too much thought, figuring that no one would want to be with someone like him. He was a coward, a nervous wreck, and he wasn't all that interesting.

Or at least he had thought so. It puzzled him so much. Why would someone like Gilbert want to spend so much time with him?

He turned in his bed, burrowing deeper into the covers. He didn't want to think about this right now, he wanted to sleep. He wanted time to rewind back to before any of this happened. Back to the day he had decided to skip Biology. If he hadn't skipped and just showed up to class, he would have never been in this mess.

But then, he would have never met Gilbert... or be able to smile so happily at all the crazy memories they'd had.

The world sucked. Matthew threw the covers over his head and turned toward the wall. He didn't want to deal with this.

* * *

The bed was jostled violently, startling Matthew awake.

"Get up." Alfred's voice cut through his dreams like a knife. He had kicked the bed to wake Matthew up. Usually he was the one that couldn't get out of bed, and Matthew was the one dragging him tooth and nail, but now the roles were reversed, and Alfred could see how annoying it could be.

Matthew didn't move for a moment, confused. He didn't remember falling asleep, but everything that had happened must have taken more of a toll on him than he had expected. Squinting from the sunlight that poured in through the windows, he looked up at Alfred holding out the phone.

"Your boss wants to talk to you." Alfred threw the phone on the bed and walked out of the room.

Matthew watched him walk out of the room, feeling very annoyed. He picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

"Hello?" His voice cracked as he murmured, rubbing his eyes. He hoped it wasn't anything bad. Why would his boss be calling him?

However, Tino sounded at ease, casually speaking into the phone. "Good morning, Matthew." he chuckled a little. "Did I just wake you up?"

Matthew pushed his tangled hair out of his face and fumbled around on the floor trying to find his glasses. "Uh, yeah, but it's no big deal," He picked up his glasses and put them on then glanced at the clock. He woke up a little more when he realized that it was 12:30. "I should have been up by now anyway."

"Oh, don't worry about that, it's the summertime, sleep in as much as you want. I swear they expect too much from you kids these days." Tino paused for a moment. "Anyway, I was calling because I was wondering if you could possibly work from four til six tonight? Something came up and Toris can't work it, and Kiku can't come in until about six."

"Uh…" Matthew looked over at the calendar by his bed. It was July 20th. "Sure, I can do it, that wouldn't be a problem." He figured it would help him get his mind off of everything and he could just focus on helping customers, running the cash register, and making coffee. Rinse and repeat.

Tino let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, thank you! I would have done the shift myself but I'm currently across the state with Berwald for a business meeting." Tino had revealed to Toris and Matthew, a few days after they realized that him and their History teacher were together that they co-owned a furniture store together, along with the coffee shop.

Matthew didn't know what he was more surprised about. That his boss had relations with his old history teacher, or that his history teacher somehow found time to own a store and teach high school kids at the same time.

Matthew said goodbye to Tino and put the phone on the nightstand next to his bed. He didn't want to get up, his whole body felt stiff and sore, but he knew that if he continued to sleep, he wouldn't wake up in time for work.

And what's worse, he realized he had hockey practice tonight too.

* * *

About an hour into work, Matthew's mind was still fumbling over all the things that had happened, or were about to happen. Work had been slow since it was the middle of the week. Usually their busiest days were Friday or the weekend, and even then it was either in the morning or evening. People would come in and order, and then Matthew would be left alone again for another fifteen minutes.

When Matthew had started working there, he didn't even have the courage to look any of the customers in the eye, and he would stand in the back cleaning glasses and mugs, minding his own business. But now, maybe because he spent so much of his time with obnoxious Gilbert and his outspoken nature, he found himself being a little braver, asking if someone needed help with a smile, and laughing at himself if he made a small mistake on an order. It felt good, like he was more in control of his life.

Letting out a sigh, Matthew leaned back against the counter. What was going to happen next? Was he supposed to fix everything now? Did it suddenly become his responsibility?

Shaking his head, Matthew straightened himself up and pulled the trash bag out of the can and tied it in a knot. Carrying it out back, he threw it in the dumpster and stood with the door open, squinting at the sun as it reflected off the tops of cars. There was something he knew he had to do, but every time he thought about it, his heart beat nervously within his chest.

He wanted to believe Gilbert was telling the truth. And at the same time, he wished this had all been a lie. But to really know what happened, he would have to talk to someone else.

He knew he would have to talk to Ivan.

Work dragged on as if it were never going to end. Not that Matthew really minded. He had known Ivan long enough that he didn't doubt that Gilbert wasn't lying when he said Ivan had punched a dent into the lockers at their school. Watching Ivan during hockey was a combination of brutal strength and fierce grace. His size alone gave people the message not to mess with him. Even whenever they would play against other teams with players equal to his height and size, one look at the dangerous gleam in his eyes, and they were wary of him. He didn't mess around. If something was going to happen, it would happen Ivan's way.

Matthew heard the door open and he looked up to see a familiar small figure with chestnut colored hair walk into the shop. The smaller man looked up at him and spoke first.

"Matthew~!" Feliciano sang excitedly with a warm smile on his face.

In spite of everything that had happened, Matthew felt the corners of his mouth turn up into a small smile. Feliciano's personality was so contagious. "Hey, how are you?"

Feliciano walked up to the counter and began to carefully examine the baked goods as he spoke. The Vargas family owned an Italian restaurant that was rather popular in the city. Matthew knew Feliciano and Lovino helped out, so he wasn't surprised that he paid close attention to food. "Good, really good! This summer has been so warm, so I've been able to take plenty of naps!"

For someone the same age as Matthew, his priorities certainly were not the same.

"That's good, it has been really warm. Do you want me to get you anything?" Matthew stood in front of the register, ready to place in the order of what he was buying.

Feliciano looked up at the board and bit his lower lip as he looked through all the options. "Umm, could I please have a black coffee?" When he noticed the surprised look Matthew gave him upon ordering such a bitter drink, he smiled, "It's for Lovino." Matthew nodded, that made more sense. "And I'll have a vanilla caramel latte please with two chocolate scones."

"Coming right up." Matthew said as he turned to prepare the drinks. He loved mixing the flavors together, the smell of the vanilla and caramel that all came together, that gave a feeling that was so warm and homely. It was definitely the relaxing part of the job. He bent over to get the scones when Feliciano spoke again in his upbeat voice.

"So how are you and Gilbert doing?"

Matthew nearly banged his head off of the top of the cookie rack upon hearing the question. Did Feliciano know they were dating? And more importantly, how did he know? He straightened up, trying to act normal as he put the scones in a small paper bag, but his hands shook a little. "Uh, fine, why do you ask?"

Feliciano shrugged, and smiled again, bouncing on his feet a little. "No reason! Ludwig was just telling me you two hang out all the time, so I was curious! Gil used to hang out with us sometimes, but I don't see him anymore, so I wanted to make sure you were keeping him out of trouble."

The last sentence was so innocent, but if only he knew everything that had happened. At least he figured he didn't know. He wondered how much Ludwig told him, since they seemed pretty close. He wondered if Feliciano knew he and Gilbert were dating, and he just didn't want to say anything.

"Uh, yeah, he's staying out of trouble." Matthew looked away, "At least, he was."

He didn't mean to say the last part out loud, but Feliciano didn't seemed to notice because he was too busy digging out a twenty to pay for the drinks and dessert. However, when he finally did, he looked up at Matthew and fixed him with a stare that was no longer all smiles, but instead it was worried, serious.

Matthew shifted uncomfortably. He had never seen Feliciano without a smile. Sure, in math class he might have had a troubled look on his face because he was concentrating, but this looked sad, all the childlike innocence gone, making him appear several years older.

"Matthew, I…" Feliciano trailed off for a moment, as if trying to find the words, "Have you heard from Antonio?"

Matthew stared at him surprised at the randomness of the question and then was confused. Why would Feliciano want to know about Antonio?

And then it hit him.

Lovino.

Feliciano continued as if there had been no pause. "It's just that, Lovino has been so angry lately," he laughed, and then specified, "angrier than usual. But I know…I know that he's actually just really really sad. And I know it's because he's missing Antonio."

Guilt washed over Matthew like a tidal wave. He had forgotten that only he and Gilbert really knew where Antonio was. He opened his mouth and almost told Feliciano, but then stopped. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to tell anyone. Gilbert had told him specifically that if anyone found out that they knew where Antonio was or if they told anyone else, they could get in big trouble.

Feliciano's face turned from serious into an understanding smile after a pause. "I was just wondering if you knew, since you're always with Gilbert. Maybe even he doesn't know. Either way, if you find anything out, anything at all, tell me or Lovino, I know it would mean the world to him." Feliciano handed Matthew a twenty, and put up his hands to stop him, "Keep the change, honestly."

Matthew looked a t him in surprise. The total for everything was about eight dollars. A huge smile returned to Feliciano's face as he picked up the coffee and the treats. "Thank you, Matthew! I hope I can see you around soon!" He began walking out of the store until he reached the doorway and turned around to look back at him. "Oh, and by the way, you and Gilbert look good together."

Feliciano waved one final goodbye just as Matthew's face turned dark red. So he did know. He could feel his cheeks burning.

Kiku finally came in a little before six, and Matthew did some quick cleaning around the shop, sweeping underneath some tables and wiping off the counters. He had wanted to tell Feliciano so bad, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Maybe he'll figure some way to tell him once his own…situation was figured out.

Scraping a broken cookie off of a pan, he folded it into a napkin and walked toward the back door by the dumpster. Once he opened the door, a wave of hot air hit him in the face and he grimaced. Matthew stood for a moment waiting to hear the small meow that would come from the kitten once it recognized it was him. But there wasn't any sign of the little black furred creature anywhere. He sighed and left the cookie underneath the dumpster for when it came back. If he wasn't having a bad day already, it didn't help that he couldn't find the cute fur ball anywhere. Waving goodbye to Kiku, he walked out the front door to his car where his hockey uniform sat in its bag on the passenger seat, waiting for him to put on. He unlocked his car door and sat down. Despite the sweltering heat, Matthew sat still for a moment and just stared at his lap. Time was ticking down, and he needed answers. He was afraid, but what was worse? Never finding out the truth, or learning everything?

He still had strong feelings for Gilbert. There was no denying the string he felt when Feliciano mentioned his name. But he didn't know what to do about everything that had happened. He didn't know if he could look at him the same knowing the demons he had from his past.

But…

The lost look Gilbert had given him after Matthew stood up and walked away, after he found out everything. Driving home, doing everything to not turn back and talk to him.

The fury in Ivan's eyes whenever he laid eyes on Mark, wanting to beat every inch of his life out of him.

Katyusha's smile, hiding the fear and pain she must have felt.

Although his hands shook, he determinedly started his car. He had to do this.

* * *

Matthew shot the puck into the net with so much force, he was surprised it didn't catch on fire. He was beyond frustrated, he was _furious_. Whenever he had first walked into the locker room, he had nervously looked around, expecting to find Ivan changing in the locker room. But instead, he didn't find anyone but three of his teammates putting their uniforms on.

"Hey Matthew." Mark called to him when he saw him. Matthew paused and stared at him for a moment before he gave him a halfhearted wave as he put his bag down next to his other teammate, Logan. Matthew leaned over and look into the showers to see if Ivan was there, but he didn't see anyone.

"Where's Ivan?" Matthew blurted out.

Logan shrugged as he slipped his shoulder pads on. "That's what we're all wondering too." And it was odd, considering Ivan was usually the first person on the team to be in the locker room, getting ready for practice.

Mark snorted as he was lacing up his skates. "Honestly, I could fucking care less." As much as no one considered Ivan their favorite person, he was an important part of the team, so Mark was really the only person that verbally, or had the courage to, dislike him.

Brad, who was sitting at the far end of the bench slipped his shirt off to reveal ripped shoulder muscles and a strong back. "Aside from Ivan not showing up, did anyone notice how pissed off Coach looked?

"You mean more than usual?" Mark added on to his sentence, and they both laughed.

Matthew chewed on his lip, trying to figure out what was going on. Not only was he troubled that now he knew what Mark had done, but now Ivan was no where to be seen. Of course it would be the day he had to talk to him.

Everyone's questions were soon answered when they were all standing out on the ice in front of their coach, who indeed looked incredibly pissed off.

"Listen up everyone." The coach barked out, "I need a few replacements for Ivan's position. He quit this morning."

Surprised murmurs flowed through the entire team, everyone giving each other confused and shocked looks. Even Mark looked dumbfounded and Matthew stared at the coach, his mouth wide open and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

But the coach didn't emphasize anymore and yelled at the teammates to start with their warm up drills. Not wanting to be a target of his anger, everyone quickly got into place and started their work.

And that's where Matthew was now, shooting pucks into the net. Practice was nearly over, and some of the people had already gone into the locker room to change and go home, but Matthew stayed out on the ice, working his frustration into aching muscles and sweat.

Matthew didn't usually get worked up about certain things, but hockey was his business. Putting aside any of the recent issues he'd had with Ivan, he was furious that someone so good for the team would just quit, and waste talent like that.

And why? Why would Ivan quit? Although Ivan wasn't one to verbally add his opinion, Matthew knew that he loved hockey just as much as him. And if the reason he was quitting was because of what happened…that was _cowardly_.

Sure, he wasn't one to speak out against others most of the time, and if he was made fun of, he usually just bowed his head, but seeing someone else just simply avoid the situation was eye-opening to him. Matthew usually didn't find himself so bitter. Right when he had worked up the courage to talk to him, to ask him, to try and figure everything out.

He thought about calling him, or even going to his house. Although this was all stuff he wouldn't have done, he was thinking irrationally in the moment, until he realized that he didn't have Ivan's phone number, nor did he know where he lived.

He skated up to the small practice net that they kept on the ice for people to practice on the side, and pushed it up to the wall, where it was supposed to be at the end of practice each night. Even though he was frustrated and bitter, he was tired. This was a lot of trouble that he had never asked for.

_Or had he?_

Matthew pushed the locker room door open to see two of his teammates getting their stuff and leaving. They waved goodbye to him and he waved back before sitting on the bench. He took off his helmet and pushed his damp hair out of his face.

Well…what now?

He shook his head and headed toward the showers.

While taking his shower, Matthew thought about a lot of things. He thought about his brother. He thought about Alfred's anger and overprotective nature upon finding out he was hanging out with Gilbert. He thought about Ivan's fury and dangerous threats toward Gilbert, and the shock on his face when he found out he was friends with Gilbert. He thought about all the lies Gilbert told and the trouble he caused.

And then he thought about Elizaveta. And the happy, calm look on her face whenever she found about he was with Gilbert. And Felicano, telling him that they looked cute together. And the way he felt around Gilbert, how even though he snapped and felt annoyed, he admired and cherished the moments, because they were some of the best times of his life.

Matthew slipped on his t-shirt and bit his lower lip, feeling an intense bout of sadness being brought on. He was so lost.

Matthew grabbed his stuff and walked out of the locker room. Maybe he'd go home and order some Chinese food with his brother, or maybe they'd just beat each other up, the way brothers do. Alfred may be the stronger one, but Matthew was definitely more agile and quick.

In spite of everything, he smiled to himself at the thought of tackling his brother.

He opened the door outside and fumbled for his car keys in his pocket. He pulled them out and looked around the parking lot. Once again, like after almost every practice, his car was one of the few that were left in the parking lot.

But suddenly, his eyes stopped scanning and without thinking, he dropped his keys, where they fell with a small clatter.

Ivan.

He was sitting on the hood of his car probably about twenty feet away from the entrance, taking a long drag from his cigarette. The burning end lit up a bright orange in the dark night, only illuminated by two old flickering streetlamps overhead. He seemed lost in thought and almost sad, his eyebrows furrowed, his mouth turned down in a frown.

But that changed whenever he looked up and saw Matthew. His eyes darkened, and he threw the cigarette aside.

"Hey Matthew. I was wondering when you'd get done with practice." He said standing up. "Why don't you tell me something." Matthew felt his mouth go dry. Ivan sounded calm, but he _wasn't. _Matthew felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle in alarm. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all.

"Why are you always hanging out with Gilbert now?" Matthew backed up from Ivan until he felt his back slam against the wall. "What are you doing hanging out with that _fucker_?"

They were face to face now, and Matthew did everything he could to not look away from Ivan's eyes. They were wide, dilated and he looked crazed.

"You're a fucking idiot." Ivan hissed at him.

Matthew looked up at Ivan, hurt in his eyes. "Ivan, I know what Gilbert did to your sister."

Ivan's eyes widened for only a moment and then he laughed quietly. He seemed relieved almost. "Exactly. He's fucked up."

"…and I know you drugged Gilbert."

Ivan's face fell. Matthew could tell he had thought he was on his side, that he was against Gilbert.

And in that moment, he realized he couldn't be. No matter what Gilbert had done in the past, no matter who he once was, no matter what had happened...

Matthew loved him.

And he was going to fight.

"So what if I did?" Ivan asked, holding his chin up and looking at Matthew with cold, violet eyes. "Do you even know what my sister went through after what they did to her?"

"Ivan, I know what they did, and I know it wasn't an accident, but…" Matthew was scared, but at the same time, he had to speak. Ivan was one of his closest friends, but so was Gilbert. "I know that Gilbert regrets it and if there were any way he could ever go back and change everything so that it would never happened, he would!"

"And why the _fuck_," Ivan yelled in Matthew's face, his fists clenched, "does that fucking matter now?!"

Ivan laughed cruelly in Matthew's face. "Do you even know _exactly_ what he did to Natalia? How he left her locked in the shed, how he apparently stood and watched as it happened!? "

"Yes, I know! But-"

"You know and you're still defending him? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Ivan's yell echoed across the parking lot, ringing in their ears.

Matthew couldn't take it anymore, feeling like he was going to lose it. While Ivan had yelled at him, he had felt his chest tense in anger. There weren't two sides to this story, but no one was innocent. "No, what the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!"

In that short moment, Matthew saw shock fly across Ivan's face.

"You drugged him!" Matthew rambled on, his face growing hot. "You drugged him and tried to kill him didn't you! Why?! I know what he did to your sister, I know! But it was an accident! He told me everything and…and I knew! He told me these things and I know he meant them!"

"But it did happen." Ivan snapped back. "And my sister won't be the same, and someone like him cares about nobody but himself. He's fucked up, and he'll _never _be sorry! And you fucking think you know everything about him?"

Matthew looked at Ivan with his jaw locked. "At least he didn't try to kill someone on purpose. I'm pretty sure I know enough about him."

And like that, it seemed to be a trigger to Ivan, he leaned forward and grabbed Matthew's t-shirt so tightly, he could hear the fabric ripping. Their foreheads were level, and Matthew could feel Ivan's hot breath and sweat.

"I know him." Ivan said. "I know all his demons. I supplied his demons. I know the things he'll be willing to do for himself, and you're not one of them."

Anger ripped through Matthew so violently, he felt himself grow hot. Never before had someone said something to him that had set him off like this. He wanted to punch, kick, he wanted to hurt. He wasn't even thinking anymore, but his mouth moved and poison spilled out.

"Fuck you."

Ivan's eyes widened and his grip slackened. Matthew pushed past him. He grabbed his keys and got into his car. When he started the engine he looked up to see Ivan still staring at him, but now it seemed like he was staring through him, a lost look on his face. He didn't even care anymore. He was too angry to think.

So he drove. He drove until he saw the familiar road that cut through the forest. The moon overhead lit his path as he turned into the driveway of the one person that he hated and loved at the same time.

Just as he turned off his car and got out of it, he realized he had no set plan. It was already so late, and he couldn't go into his house, when his parents were more than likely home.

But that problem was quickly solved whenever he heard rustling over to the side of the house. He turned his head.

And there he was.

The snow white hair stood like a beacon out in the field, as he stood facing the woods. The dogs were outside and he watched them run and chase each other. His hands were in his pockets, and although he stood tall and strong, his posture seemed sad. Almost lonely.

"Hey!" Matthew called out, making his way through the knee high grass to get to him.

Gilbert jumped slightly and looked over his shoulder. When he saw who it was he turned around and Matthew laughed a little at the surprised look on his face.

"Shorti—Matthew." Gilbert breathed, like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. But Matthew knew what he had to say.

"After everything we've been through, you could at least tell me the truth once in a while instead of hiding it!" He snapped at him. "

"I—"

"And what, you don't think I'll find out? You don't think I would want to know?" Matthew continued. "You don't think I'd want to beat the shit out of you for not knowing?"

Gilbert laughed a little, although it sounded breathy, like he still couldn't figure out what was going on. "So, so what does this mean?"

Matthew stopped and for a moment, they stared at each other. Their eyes were locked and he felt like he was being swallowed by the sad, hurt, damaged, but beautifully hopeful red eyes.

"I'm angry and pissed off, and I love you." Matthew couldn't believe how confidently he had said it, but how glad he was that he could.

Suddenly he was being crushed, his bones screaming in protest, and the air being pushed out of his lungs. Gilbert had pulled him into a hug so tight, he felt his warm palms pressing into his back.

"Thank you." Gilbert voice sounded heavy, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry about everything, I'm so sorry for everything I've done."

Matthew knew he wasn't apologizing to him anymore, but to everything that had happened. Matthew felt his eyes tear up with every shuddery breath Gilbert took.

Gilbert let go of him and placed his hands on Matthew's face, an awed look on his face.

"You look wonderful." He said, "You're more than I could ask for."

The words cut through Matthew in the way that it was the best thing he had ever heard, but it was the first time he had ever heard anyone say such a thing to him.

Gilbert kissed him on the forehead before pulling him back into a hug, his lips pressed into Matthew's hair.

Matthew closed his eyes. There were more problems than ever, but he would figure something out. Whatever had happened he was going to be like any typical teenager and procrastinate until tomorrow. The hurt look on Ivan's face, Feliciano's concern for his brother, Alfred's questions and all his anger...

Everything. Because now was too sweet, now was too good to ruin.

He would smile tonight under the stars.

"Hey." Gilbert said quietly.

"Yeah?" Matthew murmured back pressing his cheek against Gilbert's chest and looking up at him.

"Stay with me tonight?"

"I will." Matthew smiled at Gilbert when he looked at him.

Gilbert pulled him into a kiss that was tender, expect for the small bites on his lower lip. Matthew winced and muttered a tiny 'ow' before they parted and laughed. They fell onto the grass in the field, and there they spent most of their night.

**Constructive criticism is welcome. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. 3 Have a safe night everyone and have fun. (:**


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